The University Student Recreation Complex is in full operation after a brief closure this month, ending a two-year saga of repairs following Hurricane Gustav.The UREC SRC underwent a one-week “cosmetic clean-up,” earlier this month, said Brad Wilson, interim associate director for operations and project management.”We are now in improvement mode and are moving forward,” Wilson said.During the week of Aug. 7, racquetball courts were freshly painted, 10 light fixtures costing $20,000 were replaced in the swimming pool and the women’s sauna was updated, Wilson said.All were part of UREC’s general operating expenses from the year and were funded by the UREC, Wilson said.”We didn’t have a whole lot of downtime,” Wilson said. “It was pertinent that we close the facilities for a week to complete final punch-list items, so we can offer our students the best facilities as possible here at LSU.”  Wilson said other UREC-funded improvements during the 2009-10 holiday break totaled $82,000. The renovations included installing new shower heads, faucets and carpet around the bench areas and replacing shower partitions.Locker replacements also totaled $100,000, Wilson said, which was paid for by UREC’s insurance claim. With $1.37 million worth of damage, the gym took the brunt of the destruction during Hurricane Gustav. Since then, the entire gym, floors and hallways have been stripped down and refinished.Water entered through the west side of the wind ravaged roof, and the facility was without power for five days. The water damage resulted in the formation of mold, rust, and corroded basketball poles and lockers.”A person would have to look extremely hard in order to find any blemishes or damages done by the Hurricane,” Wilson said.Recently-appointed UREC Director Laurie Braden has overseen some of the recent renovations, and she said UREC is now looking toward expansion.Overcrowding is becoming a concern, and Braden said the University is not keeping up with peer institutions in terms of recreational space.The exact needs of UREC are yet to be determined, and Braden emphasized the importance of fiscal responsibility during the state budget crisis. In a student interest survey last year, the majority of students say they want a larger facility, Braden said.UREC officials are finding out exactly what students want to get the most from tight funds.Braden said a “fact-finding trip” is planned for the 2010 fall break; UREC faculty and Student Government officials are supposed to learn about other universities’ facilities during the trip. They will gather facts and figures from other universities to gain ideas on how to improve the University’s recreational center.Braden was the director of campus recreation at the University of Texas at Brownsville before coming to the University on July 2. “They had no building and no program,” Braden said. “I went there specifically to build a building and start a program, and we did that.”Braden oversaw the construction of a 100,000-square foot campus recreation center during her time in Brownsville. “We built the department from the ground up, literally,” Braden said.Taylor Nickel, chemical engineering junior, said he enjoys playing an occasional ping-pong match or a basketball game at the UREC SRC.”The Rec pretty much has everything you want,” said Taylor Nickel, chemical engineering junior. “It offers all kinds of equipment, so you don’t have to bring your own.”
 
 
 
—-Contact Linden Uter at [email protected]