What can be Changed to Better the Rec Center's Community

Most Rec Centers will one day face the same problem if they are experiencing growth - sooner or later the Rec Center will need to expand. This need for expansion is what’s happening at the Rec Center where I currently work. As a Student worker of five years at Tarleton State University, our Rec Center is undergoing an  influx of patrons coming into the facility on a daily basis. Thus, the Rec Center needs to create more space to keep the patrons happy.

Top View of Rec Center

The problem my Rec Center could run into though is space outside the Rec Center. With all the new construction and dorms popping up, it is decreasing the space around campus. Also, they are supposed to be adding an Aquatics Center in the small space right outside the Rec Center where the sand volleyball courts currently are. On the east side of the Rec Center is where the weight room is. There is a small space they could use to expand the weight room northeast but it would block the windows of where the rock wall is facing (east). The only solution I could think of is to dig deeper than the regular base. By doing this, you could expand the weight room farther northeast and avoid blocking the rock wall windows. Creating just this space would greatly increase the amount of patrons who are able to use it. Campus Rec Centers will in time have to add on to their facility sooner or later if the population around it is growing. For a college Rec Center this will probably happen. As time goes on, things will change and there will be new patrons who require something different or simply more of something.

Closer view of the Weight Room Expansion

Lobby Close-Up

Right now, my Rec Center could use a smoothie bar. This special smoothie bar would have healthy smoothies that you could drink before or even after your workout. This wouldn’t require a ton of space like adding onto the weight room. This could just be taking over a small space in the main lobby. This way, it’ll be the first thing they see walking in and the last thing walking out. From a business point of view, this would be ideal because it would offer a better chance at patrons purchasing a smoothie. More money that can be added to the budget to make other additions, big or small. This money could be used to buy additional equipment like indoor soccer balls, footballs, and other miscellaneous equipment.  

Another thing that could be added to help the overall space of the Rec Center would be an additional court. This court could be used for basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer, or any other indoor activity that requires court space. This would free up even more space especially when they host intramural basketball during the spring. This would cost quite a bit because in my Rec Center because there is no more room unless you expand outwards. Providing an additional court would be beneficial but in order to do so, we would have to tear down the north side of the Rec Center and rebuild it just for everything to fit again.  If that happened and it was plausible, we could even add racquetball courts which are multi-purpose as well.

One of the biggest things I’ve noticed that we are missing compared to other Rec Centers is our own pool area. Adding an aquatics center would be very beneficial by adding space, more activities, and even jobs. Having that extra space for activities would allow a bigger influx of patrons coming in meaning more money overall to go into the Rec Center budget.

References

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON STUDENT RECREATION CENTER EXPANSION AND RENOVATION., 5(40). (2016).

Rec Sports. (2017, February 14). Retrieved March 11, 2017, from http://www.tarleton.edu/recsports/