February 16, 2015
SUNY recreation center opens today
After two years of construction, SUNY Cortland students officially gained a new, $56 million, 148,000-square-foot hangout at 6 a.m. today when the Student Life Center opened.
The majority of the recreation facility that includes two weightlifting areas, a cardio area, a suspended one-fifth-mile track complete with inclines and declines, as well as three gyms opened today and will stay open until midnight daily.
“It’s beautiful ... it’s impressive, that’s for sure,” Junior Alex Alois said this morning, checking out the indoor track that loops the facility. “The old gym was always packed, but now it’s going to be more open.”
The facility’s other highlights include climbing and boulder walls, as well as an area for outdoor pursuits where students can rent tents, bicycles, canoes and kayaks for trips.
About 1,000 students are expected to visit the center today, Fred Pierce, a spokesman for the college, said Friday.
Cold temperatures and curiosity should combine to bring lots of students to the recreation facility, Pierce said.
Sophomore Natalie Perrigo, 19, said this morning before starting a run on the treadmill, the new facility is “awesome” compared to the Tomik Gym, pointing out the TV screens lining the facility’s walls.
“It’s nice to have TVs up ... so I don’t get bored,” Perrigo said.
Not all of the facilities will be available today as construction in some portions of the building are being wrapped up.
Three areas that were most affected by a November natural gas explosion — a spinning area, golf simulator and a mind-body room — will be closed as workers finish construction, Pierce said. Those areas are expected to open in two to three weeks and are barricaded from the rest of the facility, he said.
In the meantime, spinning equipment is set up in a temporary area.
The Nov. 25 explosion caused two workers minor injuries and delayed the opening of the center by three weeks, Pierce has said.
The explosion occurred when natural gas being used to test new piping for leaks seeped out, reached explosive limits in the generator room the workers were in and was ignited by a heater in an adjacent room, according to a preliminary report by the Cortland Fire Department released in December.
Updated information on the fire investigation was not available as of press time thismorning.
The contractor’s insurance covered the cost of the explosion’s damage, Pierce said Friday.
The center’s six-lane recreational pool with a 25-person hot tub will not be ready to use today either, but work is set to wrap up on the area shortly, he said.
Construction on the pool was delayed in October as the architectural drawings for the area did not call for adequate steel beams, Rob Davenport, the senior construction manager for SUNY Cortland who oversees capital projects at the college, said at the time. The college had to change its steel order, costing SUNY Cortland an additional $500,000 and delaying the pool’s construction schedule, Davenport said.
One large portion of the Student Life Center opened on time on Jan. 23 — a 350-seat, 13,000-square-foot residential dining area called the Bistro Off Broadway.
With the recreation facility open, the college’s Tomik Gym in the Cornish/Van Hoesen building and the Woods facility in Park Center is now set to only open for athletes and academic purposes.
Senior Josh Brown, 22 and junior Kerri Keegan, 20 both studying exercise science, are the coaches for the new functional fitness room, a place to work out in a similar way to crossfit training.
Both said this morning that they are happy with the newfacility and think it will draw more students to work outand try new methods.
“It’s not just the typical gym,” Keegan said, pointing to the bikes set up for a spinning class. “It has a lot of things to offer.”
“It’s definitely a work of art,” Brown added.
In addition to recreation opportunities for students, faculty and staff, the facility will also provide about 250 students jobs in the recreation department, Julian Wright, director of Recreational Sports for SUNY Cortland, said in October. About seven graduate students and five professional staff will be added as well, Wright said.
The Student Life Center was the brain child of Wright, who first suggested it 22 years ago, according to a news release.
“One of the biggest arguments we made for the SLC was that it would be a great alternative to going downtown,” Wright said in the release. The college has targeted problem drinking by students after the 2013 Cortaca resulted in out-of-control drinking and partying. “If you’ve got a great atmosphere and healthy, wholesome kinds of things to do, it definitely will make a difference,” he said.
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