Alumni Gymnasium renovation will improve student lives

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Charles Jenkins

UK’s history rich Alumni Gymnasium is currently being completely renovated and is set to reopen January 2018.

The Alumni Gymnasium originally opened in 1924 and had seating for 3,500 people, the entire UK student body at the time. The gym housed the University’s basketball team until the construction of Memorial Coliseum in 1950.

As a part of the new Student Center, all 41,000 square feet of the Alumni Gymnasium is being renovated and turned into a state of the art fitness center for UK students. The new gym will consist of two levels of fitness and wellness equipment. In the center of the gym will be a structure with stadium like screens.

Many UK students are excited for the Alumni Gymnasium to open as the JC has become outdated and too crowded as the college continues to grows. Having the JC on south campus and the new Alumni Gymnasium on north campus will also help solve the issue of the JC being overcrowded.

Graduate assistant of facilities Katie Halsey is excited for the new fitness center.

“Hopefully the new Alumni Gym will alleviate the busyness of the JC. The staff is really excited about the new gym,” Halsey said.

According to the lead architectural firm Omni Architects, the new Alumni Gymnasium will include “spaces for aerobics, strength training, spinning, fitness studios, and men’s/women’s lockers and showers.”  

The new Alumni Gymnasium will also be conveniently located for those who live on north campus. The JC is over a mile away from north campus dorms, making it a challenge for those students to get to the gym. The university does provide bus transportation from north campus dorms to the JC, but waiting for and riding the bus takes extra time out of a college student’s busy day.

It is also particularly nice that the new gym will have fitness studios. Those who live on north campus will be able to attend group fitness classes in the studios at the new gym and will not have to make the trip to the JC.

The university should, however, invest in updating the JC. Over the years it has become run-down and is in much need of an update. New and more gym equipment would make a huge difference.

The university has done a great job with the plans for the new Alumni Gymnasium by including amenities such as fitness studios, spinning and new locker rooms. This will make it a complete and fully functional gym that all UK students will be able to enjoy.