Stanford University Opens Second Campus Recreation Center

Earlier this month, Stanford University celebrated the grand opening of its new Arrillaga Outdoor Education and Recreation Center (AOERC), the second 75,000-square-foot recreation facility on the university's Stanford, CA, campus.

The new facility features a 50-meter outdoor pool, a climbing wall, multipurpose courts, fitness studios, academic classrooms and a 14,000-square-foot fitness center. The AOERC also includes the university's new Outdoor Education Center, which houses the student-run adventure program and outdoor equipment rental, according to the facility's website.

The center was designed to attract students, faculty and staff on the west side of the university's campus. A separate building, the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation (ASCR), is located on the east side of campus. The ASCR opened in February 2006 and features a fitness center, a climbing wall, seven squash courts and a fencing center.

Both facilities are named for John Arrillaga, an alumnus and real estate developer who helped fund and oversee the construction of the recreation centers.

Plans for the AOERC were approved by university trustees in December 2010, when the estimated cost of the project was $35.5 million. University officials had hoped to open the facility in September, but the date was pushed back after several delays, according to a report on Stanford's news website.