This rendering shows Vanderbilt’s proposed new recreation center. (Moody-Nolan/Vanderbilt)
New University-wide rec center proposed
New opportunities for getting fit, playing club sports or holding an indoor varsity sports practice will be available to the Vanderbilt community, pending Board of Trust approval of the proposed Vanderbilt recreation center and multipurpose facility.
The project re-imagines sports and fitness at Vanderbilt moving toward the trend on many college campuses of combined recreation facilities that serve students, faculty and staff.
The project will involve enhancing the existing Student Recreation Center and making it open to the entire VU community as well as the construction of a multipurpose facility near the intramural fields alongside the recreation center.
The multipurpose facility will include an indoor practice field that can be used for football, soccer and lacrosse as well as intramural and club sports teams.
An indoor track — open for use by the university’s athletic teams and students, faculty and staff — will also be part of the multipurpose facility.
Upgrades to the recreation center include expanding weight training, cardiovascular and fitness areas as well as the addition of a bowling alley that will both support the university’s bowling team and provide a new recreational activity.
Health Plus fitness programs and services for faculty and staff also will move to the new center.
Currently, Student Recreation Center and Health Plus staff members are working together to determine how to best meet the needs of the Vanderbilt community at the center.
The multipurpose facility is expected to have some impact on the local community as well, as it will increase the capacity for some of Vanderbilt’s popular summer camps for children used by the Vanderbilt and Nashville communities.