$25M student rec center groundbreaking at UM

ORONO – A groundbreaking ceremony for the University of Maine’s $25 million recreation center will be held at 1:30 p.m. today at the Stewart Parking Lot.

The 86,000-square-foot center is expected to open in 2007 and will offer additional recreation space and new activities for students. The two-level facility is being build east of Stewart Commons on the Hilltop Road.

Managed by UM Campus Recreation, the center is designed so that students won’t have to plan around the university’s varsity sports teams that need field house, pool or court time for training.

Memorial Gym, the field house, pool and Latti Fitness Center are managed by the UM Athletic Department, whose priority is competitive intercollegiate sports.

Kenda Scheele, associate dean for students and former director of campus recreation, said in a recent press release that she hopes the new building will lead to a more healthful lifestyle for students.

UM students have been involved in the planning of the facility since the project began.

Students were surveyed by Braislford & Dunlavey of Washington, D.C., in 2001 and 2002 to see what the center should offer.

Members from Cannon Design of Boston, the lead architectural and engineering firm on the project, visited the campus for two days last December to meet with students and get their comments on the building’s design.

A scale model of the new center will be on display today in the Memorial Union’s FFA room.