On Friday July 10th, 2015 Grand Valley State University's Broad of Trustees voted in favor of moving forward with a second phase of the Recreation Center expansion. In addition to the expanded weight and cardio space with the first phase, this second phase will include expanded recreational court space. Construction began in September of 2015 with the goal of having a majority of the first phase of the project completed by the start of the school year in fall of 2016. Portions of the second phase however are not expected to be completed until the winter of 2017. All together between these two phases, the existing 45,000 square foot Recreation Center which you see today will experience an increase of roughly 50,000 square feet (essentially doubling the current size). 

Below you will see notable features pertaining to the Recreation Center expansion project.  As more of the project information is finalized we will post the updates. 

• 50,000 square feet of total additional space
• New main entrance and lobby space
• Expanded cardio space and equipment
• 5,150 square foot expanded free-weight room and equipment
• 4,730 square foot expanded selectorized weight room and equipment
• 3 new additional courts - 2 lined for basketball/volleyball and 1 multi-activity court
• New instructional fitness studio
• New and improved stretching/functional training space and equipment
• Additional cubbies for storage of personal belongings
• Men's and Women's locker rooms fitted with day-use lockers and showers
• Gender neutral locker room
• Addition of new offices for Campus Recreation 
• Renovating existing offices for Athletic and Recreation Facilities Management
• Renovating the existing entrance of the Recreation Center (changing the layout of the desk/entrance space)
• New flooring in the existing Recreation Center to match that of the expansion and pulling carpeting out
• Repainting of the existing Recreation Center (painting over green/red paint) in order to match that of the expansion spaces
• Project is going for LEED Certification (Silver)

Why did Grand Valley State University move forward with this project? 

With the growth of GVSU came the growth of Recreation Center usage and coinciding crowd levels. Due to this increased demand for space in the current Recreation Center, the addition was designed to provide more informal open recreation opportunities for our student population. This expansion will assist in meeting the demands of our current student population and allow for more opportunities to partake in informal recreation. 

When did the construction start? 

Construction began in September of 2015.  Due to the above average weather that we have experienced thus far over the fall and winter the project remains on target with the initial timeline. 

What are the amenities of the Recreation Center expansion? 

See the above section entitled "Expansion Features". This project will include 50,000 square feet of additional space. This addition will allow for expanded weight space, cardio space, basketball/volleyball courts, functional/stretching space, and locker rooms.  

What will the new and improved Recreation Center layout look like? 

Existing Spaces:The existing cardio room and lower selectorized weight room will become ALL cardio space, the existing free-weight room will be "opened up" (walls will be taken out) and it will become a stretching/functional fitness space, the existing front desk of the Recreation Center will be restructured to allow for more efficiency, the existing office suite near the current entrance will be renovated, all green and red paint around the Recreation Center will be painted to match the expansion areas, all carpeting will be taken out and replaced with new flooring to match the expansion areas.

Expansion Spaces: On the main level of the expansion there will be a new front desk entrance point (the existing entry point in the current Rec Center will stay as well providing two entrance/exit points in total). The main level of the expansion will also entail an added selectorized weight room and new offices for Campus Recreation. On the lower level of the expansion there will be a new instructional fitness studio for fitness classes and instruction, a new and improved free-weight room (roughly triple the size of the current free-weight room), as well as men's/women's/gender neutral locker rooms fitted with day-use lockers and showers. Three additional courts are expected to be completed in the winter of 2016 making it a total of 7 courts between the new and old spaces. 

How is this project being funded?

This project is being funded by the Grand Valley State University Campus Development Fund.  

What will the building hours be during construction? 

Building hours will be similar to the current Recreation Center hours.  Throughout the majority of the construction process the existing Recreation Center operations and services will not be altered.  There may however be times that certain areas of the Recreation Center will be offline. 

As more information is known regarding future construction that may impact your use of the Recreation Center we will be sure to inform you moving forward.

What companies are you working with to complete the expansion?

We are working with Integrated Architecture, Hastings+Chivetta, and Erhardt Construction. Please visit this page HERE for the project page on the Ehardt Construction website. 

Who do I contact for more information on this project?

Please see the below section entitled "Questions or Comments on the Expansion". 

When will the expanded 3 court gym space open up? 

We will be officially opening up the 2nd Phase of the expansion/renovation project on Monday, November 28th.  This 2nd phase includes the new expanded 3 court gym space.  Thank you for your patience throughout this project, we are very excited to have all areas of this expansion/renovation project accessible to the Laker Community!

What activities will be permitted inside the new multi-activity court? 

Indoor soccer (futsal), floor hockey (no roller blades), and basketball will be permitted open gym activities within the enclosed multi-activity court.  Any other activities will need to be permitted by Facilities Management at this time.  

I have a suggestion regarding the Recreation Center operations. How do I get my voice heard? 

We welcome any and all feedback pertaining to our operations with this new expansion/renovation project.  You are welcome to grab business cards at either Welcome Desk to retrieve contact information or to submit an online "comment card" within our website.  Click HERE to access the comment card. 

If you have any questions or comments regarding the Recreation Center expansion please go to the Comment Card section of our website and let us know your thoughts.  Be sure to put your contact information down if you would like us to get back to you regarding your feedback.  Thank you!