This summer, ground will be broken on a new 27,000 square foot, $12 million expansion to McComas Hall.
When completed in fall 2010, the two-story addition will function mainly for the Recreational Sports Department, to feature more than 7,000 square feet of new weight training space on the ground floor with an equal amount of cardiovascular exercise space on the second floor.
The remaining space will house extra offices and maintenance areas, including an onsite workshop to repair broken exercise equipment and a 1,000 square foot dividable classroom for use by Recreational Sports.
The McComas hall expansion will be initially financed through loans, which will then be serviced through a hike in the student recreational fee, likely to take effect the semester that the new expansion opens. The burden falls on the students because, as an auxiliary department, Recreational Sports does not receive state funds. The amount of the student fee increase has yet to be determined.
The total cost of the facility to be paid off is budgeted at around $12 million, according to Todd Shelton, the project's director. That budget breaks down into a base construction cost of about $8.2 million with an additional million or more to purchase new exercise machines and other support equipment. The remainder of the budget will go to architect fees and a significant amount of contingency money. Wise added that the project is currently comfortably under budget.
Chris Wise, the director the Department of Recreational Sports, described the new addition as "very open with many windows," explaining that there will be numerous exercising options for patrons of the facility.
Students can work out in front of the windows and under the prominent skylight in order to feel more like they are outside, or alternatively they can use a cardio theater-style area where they will be able to watch TV as they work out.
One of the goals in the design, Wise said, was to get rid of the "basement feel" of the current work out areas in McComas.
Taking advantage of all the new space, McComas will significantly increase its arsenal of equipment. McComas currently houses about 50 cardiovascular exercise machines, and Wise hopes to add somewhere between 90 and 120 to the fleet. Additionally, he hopes to add 70 to 80 more weight-training stations to the existing 50.
"Our intent is to purchase the newest versions of the various cardio and strength equipment available today on the commercial market," Wise said.
Once the cardiovascular and weight training areas are expanded into the new spaces, the current spaces will be more available for alternative activities, though during the busiest times of day the facility will be entirely open for self-directed workouts.
Wise described some future possibilities might include beginner weight training classes, women's classes, power-lifting and even massage therapy, though nothing has been decided upon yet for certain.
One definite change in the existing space will involve turning what is currently a weight training room into a spinning room, as Wise said people are frequently turned away from spinning classes already paid for.
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Students would have more space if Tech would just stop admitting so many people--obviously the facilities can't handle everyone. Over 30,000 people for only McComas and War is ridiculous. Come on, Tech.
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