REC CENTER EXPANSION WILL BEGIN THIS SUMMER

Southeast Missouri State University's Student Recreation Center will be expanded by nearly 36,000 square feet.

Construction on the $5.3 million project is expected to start July 1. Completion is expected to take a year. The grand opening of the enlarged structure is slated for August 1999, university officials said.

The addition will expand the Recreation Center to nearly 90,000 square feet. The addition will be on the west side of the Recreation Center.

It will include a new entrance and lobby area facing New Madrid Street, a gym that will house two basketball courts, a weight and exercise area and two multipurpose rooms, school officials said.

Also, 3,800 square feet in the Recreation Center will be renovated. The Recreation Center office will be relocated to the southwest corner of the addition. The university's wellness program will be relocated to the current Recreation Center office.

The regents broke ground for the project in a ceremony Wednesday in the Student Recreation Center. The project is being financed with bonds that will be retired with student fees.

More than 2.8 million people have used the Student Recreation Center since it opened 10 years ago, said L.G. Lauxman, who manages the center. Students are the major users, but faculty, staff and community residents also use the center.