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Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center: The Top of the ClassIt’s no surprise that Georgia Tech attracts some of the most intelligent and gifted minds in the engineering and science fields. Students from around the world, some of whom record perfect scores on their SAT and ACT exams, send in applications hoping to be among the privileged few to grace the hallways, classrooms, and dormitories of this coveted and highly respected university. Among other notable accolades, Georgia Tech is one of the nation’s premier research universities. Ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 public universities, Georgia Tech educates more than 16,000 students every year and is home to more than 100 interdisciplinary units plus the esteemed Georgia Tech Research Institute. However, one of the only things as impressive as the academia that surrounds Georgia Tech is the newly renovated and renamed Campus Recreation Center, a $45 million state-of-the-art fitness facility and architectural masterpiece.
Best in classOriginally designed and built for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA, the Campus Recreation Center is a bustling 290,000-square-foot fitness center that represents one of the nation’s premier college campus fitness facilities. It’s a stunning 110-foot, nine-story building that boasts an Olympic swimming pool and diving well with a 2,000-seat spectator section, a leisure pool with a 184-foot water slide, current channel, hot tub and sun patio. And that’s just the Aquatic center. There’s a three-story climbing wall, a café that overlooks the leisure pool, six basketball courts, exercise studios, roller hockey rink, and an elevated jogging track.
“The Olympics provided us with the anchor to build around. Hastings & Chivetta Architects came up with the idea to use the space between the pool deck and the roof – space that would otherwise be wasted – to put in the basketball courts, studios, and jogging tracks,” said Mike Edwards, director of campus recreation.
Earning extra creditWhen it came time to outfit the new facility with fitness equipment, Georgia Tech looked at several companies. Ultimately, the decision came down to the company that shared the same high-quality standards as the university and could provide all the equipment they needed to serve such a diverse member base.
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“We wanted to partner with a recognizable and trusted company that could give us the best products out there,” said Jonathan Hart, GIT FIT Program Director at the CRC. “Life Fitness gave us everything and then some—facility layouts, equipment choices, marketing support, flexible financing,” added Hart. | Life Fitness is the exclusive fitness equipment in the Campus Recreation Center. There are about 61 pieces of Life Fitness cardio including treadmills, total-body elliptical cross-trainers, Lifecycle exercise bikes and stairclimbers, all featuring LCD entertainment consoles. The more than 120-piece strength line-up includes units from Hammer Strength plate-loaded, Motion Technology Selectoried (MTS), and bench and racks lines, and Life Fitness strength Pro2 SE and Signature Series selectorized line.
The renovation gives Georgia Tech an essential tool in attracting prospective students to the campus. The National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association estimates that U.S. universities are scheduled to build or renovate 400 indoor recreational facilities at a cost of $4.3 billion over the next five years. “If we want to remain competitive in attracting students, facilities like this are essential, “said Edwards. “When students visit college they ask ‘Where can I play?’ Universities that don’t have these facilities are missing an important tool in recruiting students,” added Edwards.
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“The looks on the students faces when they first walk into the facility and see all the Life Fitness and Hammer Strength equipment is priceless,” said Hart. “We’ve had many freshman wander in here with their parents over the summer who were amazed at our new facility,” said Edwards. “They say it’s wonderful that they’ll be able to come here to take their mind off the stresses of being a student.” | Another reason why Life Fitness was a good fit was because of the equal opportunities offered in each line of strength equipment. Many products are built for both pre-conditioned and experienced exercisers. “People of all ages, shapes, and sizes use our facility daily, so it’s important to have equipment in here that caters to everyone,” added Hart. “The other day a man in wheelchair came in here and was amazed at how many different options there were available to him.”
Needless to say, the Campus Recreation Center is one of the most frequented university buildings on campus, receiving 3,500 visitors per day. And because of the instant success of the CRC, Georgia and Life Fitness are working together on several research projects as part of a biomechanical engineering study and academic program, an ambitious knowledge sharing agreement between the two entities. Life Fitness was even presented with a key to the university for its role in helping Georgia Tech build the fitness facility of their dreams.
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