STEPHENVILLE — Tarleton State University this weekend unveiled plans for an almost $12 million Aquatics Center on the Stephenville campus, following a green light last month from The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. The project is part of the 2020-2024 A&M System Capital Plan.
Construction begins this month, with completion set for August 2021.
Tarleton Texans voted in 2015 to increase student fees to cover the center’s construction as well as enhancements for university tennis courts and intramural fields. The tennis court and field improvements are complete.
Part of Tarleton’s Department of Campus Recreation, the facility will feature an NCAA Division I indoor pool with eight 25-yard lanes and bleacher seating, an outdoor multifunctional pool for use by Tarleton students and the community, and a first aid office, locker and dressing rooms, family changing rooms, storage areas and wet training lab for kinesiology students.
“This is a great day for our students and our aquatic athletes,” said Cahlen Cheatham, President of Tarleton’s Student Government Association and Student Regent for the A&M System. “This showcases the strong partnership between the SGA and the administration. We’re grateful to Tarleton President Hurley and his cabinet as well as A&M System Chancellor John Sharp and the Board of Regents. The Aquatics Center will serve our students and the community for decades.”
Tarleton’s existing pool — an addition to Wisdom Gym in 1970 — is the only public indoor facility in the area for swim lessons, water aerobics, lap swimming and lifeguard training.
“This state-of-the-art Aquatics Center will provide new opportunities for students interested in competitive and recreational swimming and lifeguarding,” Dr. Hurley said. “And the updated space for kinesiology classes will increase hands-on learning opportunities. We are excited to keep the commitment we made to our students and move the Aquatics Center forward.”
In addition to the Aquatics Center, Campus Recreation oversees a number of fitness and wellness programs for students and employees as well as intramurals, sports clubs and outdoor pursuits.
For more information on Tarleton’s Campus Recreation Center, visit www.tarleton.edu/campusrec/about/index.html.
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