Stony Brook University opens recreation center

A massive new state-of-the-art recreation center was unveiled at Stony Brook University on Friday.

The Campus Recreation Center is three stories tall and 85,000 square feet. The facility can serve up to 6,000 students a day compared with the current fitness center, which provides for about 1,000 students a day, according to Susan DiMonda, the school’s associate dean and director of student life.

“This was something that was virtually missing on our campus,” DiMonda said.

The center will provide fitness classes such as indoor cycling and Zumba, with more than 50 classes available every week, she said. There are 111 new pieces of cardiovascular exercise equipment, most with their own television screens and with software to program workouts.

The $37.5-million cost of the center, which has been planned for more than a decade, was funded as a capital project.

“It will be another hub where students will gather,” DiMonda said.

Each semester, undergraduate students will pay a mandatory $75 fee and graduate students an optional $85 fee to use the center, while faculty and staff will have the option to purchase $300 yearly memberships.

DiMonda said recreation centers have become a staple of most college campuses, and Stony Brook had to upgrade its facility to keep students interested.

“It becomes a necessary component,” she said. “It’s not just recruiting, but also retaining students.”

Above: Stony Brook University celebrated the opening of the Campus Recreation Center, a brand new, state-of-the-art 85,000-square-foot health, fitness and well-being hub, at a commemorative ceremony. (Oct. 19, 2012).