Where will the Recreation Center be located?

The new University Recreation Center will be located where the current tennis courts are located next to Blair-Shannon Residence Hall.  The current tennis courts will be relocated.

Will athletics get to use the facility?

No. The facility will be for student use.  Athletic teams will be unable to use the facility, but student athletes will, of course, be welcome.

The facility isn’t supposed to open until 2011 and I graduate before then. What about me?

First, however many semesters a student pays into the fee (even at the discounted rate during the phase-in period), is how many semesters they will get to use to facility at no cost once it opens. This is especially nice for individuals staying in the Springfield area, or for those students who will be frequent visitors to the area and campus in the future.  In addition, an added incentive is that individuals paying in now will pay less for the same amount of use as those paying once the facilities open. Finally, there are many facilities on our campus that individuals paid into without ever getting to use; students paid into the Union for ten years before the facility opened. This is our generation's legacy to leave at Missouri State—and many of us will get to use it.

Why not a renovation of McDonald Arena or Hammons Student Center?

Renovating both McDonald Arena and Hammons Student Center (HSC), as well as a new facility, were considered during the feasibility and planning process for the University Recreation Center.  Both renovation locations came with concerns.

If located in HSC, recreation would still have a split facility with athletics, not meeting the project’s goal of creating a designated, consolidated facility for students.  In addition, the Hammons Student Center option offered a non-centralized location, would have to wait until JQH Arena was completed to begin construction, and would be much more expensive for a similar amount of space.

Student leaders determined McDonald Arena was  the better renovation option because it was centrally located.  Unfortunately construction of the Recreation Center at McDonald Arena would also be delayed because the current occupants would need to be relocated.  While discussions about McDonald Arena were taking place, funding to relocate the current occupants was lost.

After thorough discussion, student leaders and the University administration determined that building a new stand-alone facility was the best economic option.