Campus Recreation renovations will not include lazy river

After surveying students last semester about what they would like to see built by Campus Recreation, the results are still yet to be compiled, but one thing is for certain — there will be no lazy river.

Campus Recreation is working with a Kansas City-based architecture firm to create a master plan, and the results of the surveys will be compiled in February. After a plan is created, students will ultimately decide what is built or renovated.

“We want to efficiently and economically expand the student centers,” said Bill Goa, the director of Campus Recreation.

A Tar Heel-shaped pool with hot tub toes will not be on the list of suggested improvements to UNC’s recreation facilities, but the renovations will be something that gives Campus Recreation a signature look.

“There is no Campus Rec identity in the existing facilities yet,” Goa said.

He said he hopes the master plan will change that.

The plan will focus on all indoor and outdoor recreational facilities on campus as well as the Carolina Outdoor Education Center and athletic facilities.

Because Campus Recreation is student-funded, Goa and the design firm stressed how critical student opinion was to the planning process.

“The great thing about UNC is that you have an active student body and student government,” said Doug Barraza, vice president and regional leader at HOK design firm, which acquired 360 Architecture on Jan. 13.

Barraza has worked with UNC before on a previous campus project and said he has also worked with Goa before — when Goa was the senior associate director of Nebraska’s campus recreation.

Goa said 3,000 students completed the survey Campus Recreation sent out in the fall. According to the surveys, about 92 percent of on-campus students said they utilize the facilities while 75 percent of graduate students reported that they use them.

Although not all of the data has been compiled, there have been two overwhelming trends — students wish to have more access to multipurpose space and cardiovascular equipment.

Junior Brianna Gaddy expressed the same sentiment about cardio equipment.

“If Fetzer gets renovated, I hope we get more bathrooms,” she added.

Other popular suggestions included renovations to the aquatic facilities and outdoor fields.

“We also want to look into sustainable buildings ... investigate green roofs and smart windows,” Goa said.

Funding through donations, sponsorship and naming rights will be critical to keeping student fees low.

Goa said the goal for all the renovations returns to the same point — recreation centers should have an identity.

“Rec centers should reach out and grab you,” Goa said.

Students will be the judge of whether the proposed facilities meet their standards when the master plan is released in February.

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