On a cold day when indoor recreation might be the best choice, Eastern Kentucky University officials broke ground Monday morning for a new student recreation and wellness center. The $40 million dollar facility is financed through a student fee.
When completed the student rec and wellness center will be twice as big as EKU’s existing facility and will include basketball and racquetball courts, a pool, a weight room and a rock climbing wall.
Eastern President Michael Benson says academic studies must be balanced with physical and mental health. “Students have got to stay healthy, they’ve got to stay active. What happens in the classroom is so important. That’s what we’re about. But, think about how many hours are spent outside the classroom where students have to tend to themselves and take care of themselves.”
Benson says the entire campus-wide capital construction program carries a price tag just under $300 million. But, he said, much of that money doesn’t come from the state. “Of the $300, only $66.5 million, comes from the state. so everything else was either the investment from a vendor, Aramark, student fee supported, P-3, or revenue bonds that we’ve issued several years ago for our athletic facilities.”
P-3 is the public-private partnership funding strategy. Benson says EKU’s construction funding formula is entirely separate from funding need to operate the university.
The student recreation and wellness center, which is funded with student fees, is expected to open in the fall of 2019.
