Fresno State Rec Center will be closed until next semester

Beginning with Thanksgiving break, the Fresno State Recreation Center will be closed through January 15 to get a major refresh.

“So the plan is to kind of get rid of our a lot of equipment that is 18 years old,” said Derek Walters, director of Student Recreation Center.

Walters says students are more into strength training than cardio.

“When they use a treadmill or some kind of steppers, a lot of times it’s only about 5 or 10 minutes as a warm up or a cool down,” said Walters.

There will be new floors, machines, racks, dumbbells, and more. The project cost $500,000, and Walters said the money is coming out of the Student Recreation Center reserve, which is used to pay for major projects and repairs. This won’t affect the student fees at all.

Walters also said the Student Recreation Center is always closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day, so the extra few weeks will buy more time to bring new equipment. However, there are no alternative plans for students who want to work out.

“What we tried to do was try to minimize the amount of time that the students would be around on campus,” Walters said.

A few of the students at the Student Recreation say they do have an alternative.

“I got one in mind which is going to be a little bit pricey, just only like a tad bit. I have that like as an alternative to kind of go to, to kind of do my thing a little bit over there [at another gym],” said Peng Vang, a kinesiology major.

“I don’t have any like backup plan as of right now except for just my house. I got like a little bit of weights. Not too much. So I have to make do.” said Jonathan Medina, a biochemistry major.

Despite the Student Recreation Center being closed, Walter said it will be worth the wait.

“Not only do we have new equipment, it’s going to be more spacious. You know more opportunities to do things,” said Walters.

If you want to keep up with Student Recreation Center and their refresh, follow them on their Instagram.