Facilities

Yost Grube Hall, Architecture. (2013). Concept Feasibility Study and Programming Report (pp. 1-95, Rep.). Portland, OR: Yost Grube Hall Architecture.

Dixon Recreation Center, Phase 4 Expansion

This Feasibility Concept Study and Report was intended to create a ‘road map’ for renovation, future growth, and expansion of student activity and recreational opportunities at the Dixon Recreation Center.  The Study was created within a framework built from user group contact and surveys, planning workshops, needs assessment meetings, program planning and review of existing facility conditions.  Rec Sports staff and leadership and the design team met throughout the Study to ensure mutual benefit from their collective experiences, ideas, and opinions.

Brailsford & Dunlavey. (2014). Fee Sensitivity Analysis Report (pp. .1-B.11, Rep.). Oakland, CA: Brailsford & Dunlavey.

Report prepared for Oregon State University

The Department of Recreational Sports at Oregon State University retained Brailsford & Dunlavey in January 2014 to conduct a Fee Sensitivity Analysis.  The Study examined current facilities and programs, the satisfaction of existing space, and tested fee support for a proposed expansion and renovation to the Dixon Recreation Center.  It identified the most commonly impacted areas as weight and fitness spaces, and the most underutilized areas as Racquetball and Squash courts.  The Study also was intended to give a final recommendation on whether students and the Board of Recreational Sports should move forward with a Spring 2014 referendum for the project.  The Study is based on a broad approach to engagement with students, faculty/ staff, the board of Recreational Sports members, stakeholders, and student leaders.  The report recommended against a Spring 2014 referendum to fund expansion.

Professional guidelines for space allocation

Current use patterns

As a part of their regular hourly rounds, student operations staff log the number of users in each separate recreation space.  Composite data clearly identifies

• Weight Rooms as the highest use areas (volume and frequency) in Dixon Recreation Center

  • Weight rooms are in use 100% of available hours
  • The average number of users in Weight Room 1 ranges from 46 during low-use hours to 82 during high-use hours
  • The average number of users in Weight Room 2 ranges from 33 during low-use hours to 69 during high-use hours
• Squash and Racquetball Courts as the lowest use areas (volume and frequency) in Dixon Recreation Center
  • The Squash court on the third floor is virtually unused
  • At its highest use (12-1PM and 5-9PM), only half of the available racquetball space is occupied (53%)*

*Note: This renovation plan preserves all Squash and Racquetball courts on the third floor, as they are.

Architectural considerations

• Accessibility and adjacency - Keep the primary traffic on the main floor.
  • More accessible for more people
  • The capacity of the elevator and two smaller stairs is limiting
  • Adjacency to other weight/training and gym spaces for programming
• Equipment considerations – Ensure adequate space and support for set-up and use.
  • Olympic lifting with repeated weight drops demands greater floor structure
  • Heavy/ large equipment  – demands on lifts, stairways, openings, and path of travel (floors)

The renovation of the three racquetball courts on the main level, two into functional fitness rooms that will be connected and one into a cycling studio will offer much needed, dedicated and alternative space for individual and group exercise. By transforming the use of these spaces, the Recreation Sports team will be able to expand and improve class offerings, while also increasing the variety and types of exercise options in the facility to further accommodate user interest and need. Given the anticipated demand, the existing main level location is particularly ideal for its proximity to the main and east entry, the practice gymnasiums and Climbing Center.

– Miles Woofter, Woofter Architecture

Collegiate recreation centers across the nation are re-purposing court space and growing functional fitness programs, as described and documented in a plethora of professional articles over recent years, a few of which are linked below.

Equipped Change Exercise Trends

The Evolution of Campus Recreation Facilities and Programs

What to do With Your Racquetball Court? A Look at Current and Future Fitness Trends

Fitness Programming Trends at Prominent College Rec Centers

Oregon State University’s Strategic Plan III (2014-18) calls for an increase in first-year retention and six-year graduation rates, and we know that those student-success numbers correlate with student health and wellbeing.  Recreational Sports contributes to student success in many ways, but wellbeing is primary, and we are in pursuit of a personalized wellness plan for every student.

This renovation aligns with the Department’s strategic plan to inform, equip, engage, and inspire students to be active for life, and contributes to our ability to develop scalable and integrated program models that impact well-being.  It supports the development and anticipated growth of fitness training, enabling engagement at foundation and performance levels; and it complements the versatile fitness options in Mc Alexander Fieldhouse.

Campus surveys

The predominant themes from campus-wide student surveys conducted in Winter 2015 and Spring 2018 were:

• More communication needed (email preferred) about what is available
• The facility is too crowded
• More weight/ cardio space needed
• Need more small/ personal spaces for weight/ cardio (particularly requested by women)
• Add Olympic lifting

Student governance

The Department of Recreational Sports is committed to stewardship of the student dollar, and we continue to engage student government in short and long-term plans for capital maintenance, so facilities remain relevant, safe, and in good repair; this includes multiple conversations with the Recreational Sports Advisory Board and a Spring 2018 tour and presentation to OSU's Student Fees Committee.