Stony Brook University's $40M Student Recreation Center Opens

A 13-year mission to enhance student life culminated in the grand opening Friday of Stony Brook University's new student recreation center, a project that initially started out as a $19 million project but topped off at $40 million by its completion.

"Your health and wellbeing is incredibly important to us, and this building really helps us fulfill that promise," university president Samuel L. Stanley Jr. told students at the grand opening on Friday.

According to Peter Baigent, vice president of student affairs, the rec center will at first be open to undergraduate students, with plans to open it to the rest of the campus community, including faculty, staff and graduate students. He said the administration expects between 10,000 and 15,000 visitors per day to the facility, which will be open 18 hours per day, seven days a week. There is no immediate plan to open the rec center for use by the general public, Baigent said.

A "recreation center and fields" student fee of $75 per semester, collected at the time of tuition payment, will allow the university to maintain the facility and fund other recreational facilities such as outdoor fields. Students voted to impose the fee during the 2011-2012 school year.

"The student fee is really the operational piece. How do you upkeep this, that's what they're paying for," said State Sen. Ken LaValle, R-Port Jefferson, who helped secure state funding for the rec center.

LaValle said the rec center is expected to be an attraction for prospective students who are weighing the decision of whether to enroll at SBU or at a peer institution. He also said there are no comparable facilities on the other major SUNY campuses.

Anna Lubitz, president of the Undergraduate Student Government, used phrases like "long-awaited and exciting," "hot spot," and "new social hub" to describe the new rec center.

Among the facility's amenities:

• Three-court gymnasium
• Three fitness studios with capacities of 25, 28, and 49
• 13,437-square-feet for weights and other fitness needs
• Locker rooms
• Multi-activity court
• Equipment rental
• Lounges
• Fitness classes
• TVs and wireless internet access

Students began using the equipment immediately, giving high praise.

"I think it's amazing," said Jared Scott, a 22-year-old political science major who is on the rugby team. He envisions using the rec center six days per week – and didn't complain about the recreation fee built into his tuition because of its results. "I didn't even know about it, but I'm fine with it," he said.

The facility is expected to become a destination not only for students interested in fitness goals – but will also satisfy a major need for space for club and intramural teams who have been "nomads wandering from place to place" on campus. That's according to Derek Cope, president of the sports club council, which includes 30 member teams serving more than 1,000 students.

"Today we can say we've found our home," Cope said. "It will elevate all sports club programs. Students will take pride and ownership of the rec center."