Texas University Starts Work on New Recreation Center

Texas A&M University-San Antonio (A&M-SA) recently announced that construction has begun on a new Student Recreation Center, according to a university news release. The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the project in November 2022, and completion is scheduled for spring 2024. The space will measure in at 22,322 square feet.

The Student Recreation Center will include three major spaces: a gym, a weight room, and a set of locker rooms. The gym will feature a regulation-size basketball court and two 84-foot recreational basketball courts overlaid as cross courts, the news release reports. The fitness and weight room will measure in at about 3,400 square feet and 1.5 stories high, and will stand adjacent to the gymnasium.

“Our recreation center will be designed to enhance the student experience, improve recruitment, retention and magnify the brand of the university in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” said Darnell Smith, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreational Sports. “As our students pursue their lofty academic goals, we seek to provide an equal opportunity for them to pursue their health and wellness goals with the new facility.”

The Student Recreation Center will serve the campus at large and play home to university programs including strength and conditioning, ROTC drills and exercises, kinesiology classes, convocations, staff council meetings, campus town halls, and more, the news release reports. The university will also host camps, events, and clinics for the larger San Antonio community, according to the press release.

“The recreation center is the culmination of several years of institutional effort to strengthen student life and recreation on campus. It is arguably the most student-driven and student-led construction project in the university’s history,” said Student Government Association President Jacob Goldstein. “An audacious future for recreational and athletic offerings for students is just around the corner.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • New Jersey Day School Opens New Science & Entrepreneurship Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIG Architecture on the 32,000 square foot facility, completed on a 17-month construction timeline in time for the beginning of the new school year.

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.

  • UPenn Announces Completion of New Veterinary Education Facility

    The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn., recently finished construction on an 11,800-square-foot veterinary education building, according to a news release. The Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education is the first dedicated classroom facility at the New Bolton Center, a large-animal hospital and campus about 35 miles west of the campus proper.

  • Photo courtesy of Kraus-Anderson

    Concordia College Completes Memorial Auditorium Renovations

    Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., recently completed a $2.5-million renovation project to Memorial Auditorium, a news release reports. The college partnered with Kraus-Anderson for the project’s construction and ICON Architectural Group for its design.