Student Fitness Center - Close to College Courtyard

From the Reno Gazette Journal:

The E. L. Wiegand Foundation announced today it is making an $8 million gift to build a four-story student fitness center at the University of Nevada, Reno set to open in late 2016.
The fitness center will boost the university’s ability to attract and retain students, UNR president Marc Johnson said.

“As a university, we are developing and investing in our state’s human capital,” Johnson said. “The E. L. Wiegand Fitness Center will greatly contribute to the competitiveness of this university. “

In addition to the Wiegand Foundation’s gift and other potential private funding, the university is considering charging user fees to support the construction and operation of the new student fitness center. The facility also will be open to faculty and staff.

The 110,000-square-foot facility will be built on the parking lot along the 15th Street entrance to the campus, just south of the Lawlor Events Center.

The fitness center design includes areas for weightlifting, training and numerous fitness classes and activities, plus an indoor 1/8th mile running track.

The center will have three full-court gymnasiums for basketball, volleyball, tennis and other indoor-court sports.

“There is a tremendous amount of research and data that connects student fitness levels to improved cognitive function, academic performance, social networks and engagement on campus, plus a decrease in stress and anxiety,” said Jim Fitzsimmons, UNR’s director of campus recreation and wellness.

Surveys have shown that as many as 30 percent of students based their selection of a college or university on the fitness and wellness resources available, said Fitzsimmons, whose doctoral thesis was on the role of student recreation centers in the recruitment and retention of undergraduate students,.

He said up to 75 percent of students say recreation and fitness facilities contributed to their decision to remain at an institution until graduation.

The E. L. Wiegand Fitness Center will nearly triple the space dedicated to fitness and recreation at UNR. The existing Lombardi Recreation Center was meant primarily to support physical education programs when it opened in 1974. Back then, UNR’s enrollment was about 4,000 students compared to the more than 18,000 students on campus today.

Once the new fitness center opens, Lombardi Recreation will continue to support academic programming and intramural sports, plus serve as the training site for the women’s swimming and diving team, UNR officials said.

The plan is to renovate the gymnasiums and use them for additional training space for other Wolf Pack Athletics programs such as basketball or volleyball.