February 2004

Campus adds learning, leisure, athletics facilities

As the university has been striving to accommodate more students over the last several years, many of the buildings going up on campus are primarily student oriented. These are the gathering places that students are likely to remember long after they have left with a degree in hand.

The state's budget crunch likely won't have much of an effect on the projects already in progress, according to campus planner Bob Segar. That's because much of what is under construction now or set to begin soon is to catch up with the recent spike in enrollment and has already been funded.

	Membership at the Activities and Recreation Center is included in the fees of all full-time UC Davis students. (Debbie Aldridge/UC Davis)

Over the last decade, on-campus enrollment averaged over the three quarters of the academic year has increased by almost 34 percent to an estimated 28,034 for the current academic year.

"We have grown so fast over the last few years that there's definitely more than enough demand for these facilities," Segar says.

Projects in the works

The Activities and Recreation Center is nearing completion. A fee students imposed on themselves in a 1999 referendum funds this $46.5 million project. Located just north of the 1970s-era Recreation Hall, it will include multi-purpose athletic courts, weight and exercise areas, a gymnasium, shower and locker rooms, a ballroom/banquet room, space for student organizations, and even a cafe.

"It's going to be a really active student place," Segar says.

The Schaal Aquatics Center will be used by intercollegiate and intramural teams, sports clubs, and community organizations. (Debbie Aldridge/UC Davis)

The Ted and Rand Schaal Aquatics Center opened last month. The $7.3 million facility includes a 25-yard by 65-meter open-air swimming pool, a warming pool, locker rooms and showers, a first-aid room, stadium seating, and more. It is named for the father-and-son contributors who donated $1 million to get the project started.

	The new Segundo Commons dining facility is scheduled to open in June. (Debbie Aldridge/UC Davis)

The $22.8 million Segundo Commons project, under construction south of Gilmore Hall, will replace the current dining facility near the Segundo residence halls. The existing building, constructed 40 years ago, was designed to accommodate about 800 students with cafeteria-style dining -- far fewer than the 1,700 students who use the space now. The facility, set to open in June, will include a new dining commons and a central kitchen facility.

The Sciences Laboratory Building project includes teaching labs and a large lecture hall. (Debbie Aldridge/UC Davis)

The Tercero residence halls will also be expanded, with housing for an additional 400 freshmen and a dining area for up to 2,200 students. Construction on this $45.5 million project should begin this summer, Segar says, and will likely be opened in September 2006.

Housing projects are funded through campus housing reserves.

The campus is also adding classroom and lab space. The $48.8 million Sciences Laboratory Building project, expected to open in November, will include teaching labs and a 500-seat lecture hall. And construction is expected to begin in May 2005 on the $6 million Warren and Leta Giedt Hall, which will provide 9,100 square feet of classroom space. Paid for through gifts and non-state funds, the hall should be completed in May 2006.

Also being planned

• A $29.3 million multi-use stadium, paid for in large part by a 1999 student fee initiative, is expected to go to the UC Board of Regents for final approval in March. Construction should begin in spring 2005.
• With funds from student fees, planning is under way for a $2.1 million indoor riding arena and observation deck for the Equestrian Center, a new student health center and the expansion of the Coffee House.
• Fund raising by Intercollegiate Athletics will help pay for six lighted championship tennis courts with a grandstand for up to 1,000 spectators. A timeline for the project, estimated at about $850,000, has not been determined.

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