Special activities and promotions this week sponsored by Northwestern’s Department of Athletics and Recreation will celebrate the grand re-opening of the Sports Pavilion and Aquatics Center and new Combe Tennis Center, which opened unofficially after renovations and construction this September.
New facilities at SPAC include three basketball courts and a suspended three-lane track with a view of Lake Michigan. The Combe Tennis Center features six tennis courts for varsity and recreational use.
Although SPAC has been free for students in the past, students and other users will have to pay to play tennis on the new courts starting Feb. 11. Students, who can reserve courts up to 24 hours in advance, must pay $5 per person for each hour of use.
Director of Recreational Sports Dan Bulfin said the fees will help cover operational costs for the 62,000-square-foot center. The courts pose different problems than other facilities because only about 12 people at a time can use them, he said.
“It becomes a problem of trying to offset the cost of operating a large space used by a small number of people,” Bulfin said.
Charging students to use tennis courts is standard practice at other universities, said SPAC Director Betty Scott.
“We compared our prices to other Big Ten schools and we’re somewhere in the middle,” Scott said. “Ninety-eight percent of schools charge (for the use of tennis courts).”
But some students complained about the charge.
“We don’t pay for any of the other facilities,” said McCormick freshman Mun Tham. “I just don’t understand why we have to pay for the courts at all.”
Although students said they were unhappy at having to pay to use the tennis courts, they seemed impressed at SPAC’s addition of six new treadmills and six elliptical machines.
Weinberg junior Stephanie Choi, who spent Fall Quarter in London, visited SPAC before deciding whether to join a private athletic club and said she liked the changes.
“The improvements are good because you don’t have to wait as long to get machines,” Choi said.
Some students said the new features at SPAC might cause them to exercise there instead of at other recreation facilities such as Patten Gym and Blomquist Recreation Center.
McCormick freshman Tej Patel played a pick-up game of basketball at SPAC with some friends from his residence hall.
“We’ve been studying for midterms, and we came down here to relax and have fun,” Patel said. “It’s awesome – much better than Patten.”
As part of the re-opening celebrations, former Northwestern All-American Todd Martin and former Harvard All-American James Blake will play a tennis exhibition match at 7 p.m. tonight with free admission.
Celebrity fitness instructor Billy Blanks will lead a Tae Bo class tomorrow and sign copies of his new book. Other highlights of the re-opening celebration include a scavenger hunt and free workshops throughout the week.
