The University of Notre Dame is building a 400,000-square-foot student center that will include ample amounts of space for recreation and fitness.
The facility, named the Duncan Student Center, will be built on the west side of the iconic campus football stadium and is part of an even larger construction effort at Notre Dame called the Campus Crossroads Project, a $400 million project construction plan that will add more than 750,000 square feet of classroom, research, student facility, digital media, performance, meeting, event and hospitality space.
The nine-story Duncan Student Center will have expanded study, recreational, meeting, career counseling and student activity space.
"As we worked on campus planning in recent years, the need for a new student center, integrating student and academic life, continued to be an essential addition to our campus," said John Affleck-Graves, university executive vice president.
Levels three and four of the Duncan Student Center will house recreation and fitness space. In addition, level two of the facility will have a climbing wall that extends into the recreational space above.
The third floor will have a basketball court, cardio and free-weight exercise areas, a designated indoor cycle studio, locker rooms, three general fitness studios for group instruction, an open area with modular exercise space and offices for the rec sports staff.
The fourth floor will have additional workout space that provides views onto the main floor of the recreation center below. It will include a three-lane, 260-meter indoor track and extensive open space designed for individual exercise and recreational club fitness programs.
Mark Williams, director of rec sports at Notre Dame, said the fitness equipment areas and activity rooms planned for the Duncan Center will triple the amount of space allocated to those functions in the existing campus facility, the Rolfs Sports Recreation Center. When the Duncan Center opens, the the Rolfs Center will become the practice home for the men's and women's varsity basketball programs.
“Notre Dame students are very physically active, and our campus boasts a history of terrific intramural programs and club sports,” Williams said. “This space will provide them with a state-of-the-art fitness facility located in an exciting hub of campus, encouraging their holistic development.”
Construction of the center began in November and will be completed by the summer of 2017.