Michigan State is improving its athletics and recreation facilities, recently opening its new Student Recreation and Wellness Center (SRWC) - a state-of-the-art $200 million facility located across the street from the Breslin Center.
The SRWC is replacing the 68-year-old IM West building, designed to be a place where students can build connections as well as reshape the community for the greater Lansing area.
For the MSU Climbing Club, the new facility serves as an example of growth and change at the university, giving it a local gym to call home after navigating through the years with limited wall space. The Climbing Club usually has meetings every Monday at the IM West building for socials and informational meetings.
Members of the club often had to commute to be able to rock climb within the week with no rock climbing gym in the Lansing area.
“Every rock climbing gym before this year was like an hour drive, so we’ll do a lot of carpooling and group trips to gyms on weekdays and other weekends,” said MSU Climbing Club President Gabriel Boyce.
The SRWC features a 15-foot bouldering wall and a 47-foot roped climbing wall, called the “Spartan Summit”. Boyce and the rest of the club will now be able to practice rock climbing without it taking up the whole day.
The rec center also has MSU employees with certifications for advanced styles of climbing to ensure proper training and safety of rock climbers. These factors will ensure a bigger community, and a better experienced group of climbers with MSU.
Club sports is also looking to transform, with the SRWC as the hub where most will practice and train. The facility upgrades include a dedicated combat sports room, virtual sports simulators, a 50-meter Olympic-sized pool, as well as new and improved workout areas that are nearly three times the size of the fitness areas in IM West and East combined.
These upgrades will bring the best out of students and allow them to better practice and train for upcoming competitions.
“I think the new facility provides them a space to show off our school. We’ve already had a number of clubs ask about hosting regional or even national tournaments at the facility over the new year or two,” said MSU Club Sports Assistant Director Zach Wallace.
The facility’s capacity for large-scale events serves as a powerful tool for community engagement. Regional tournaments bring hundreds of visiting students and families to East Lansing, showcasing MSU’s modernized campus and also helps with the recruitment of potential students.
The SRWC won’t only serve college students, but youth as well.
The expansive facility will be able to better accommodate players and spectators for youth camps and tournaments like the annual Spartan Classic Basketball Tournament.
This also opens doors for more tournaments to be able to be hosted in the area, further enriching the experience for the next generation of athletes.
Beyond sports, the SRWC is expected to play a role in hosting youth conferences, leadership summits and other non-sporting events.
“With the openness of the gyms, the aesthetics, the views, I think the overall experience will be improved. I think numbers for events, camps, and AAU could potentially go up because of the improved experience,” said MSU Assistant Director of Facilities and Equipment Dujuan Wiley.
With the opening of the SRWC, its impact was felt within the community almost instantly. This facility offers a premier environment that’s open for many to enjoy.
The facility is set to reshape the Michigan State experience for every student, faculty member, local resident, and visitor.
“When we opened up, I was like a kid in a candy store just watching students interact with the building. It's been a long time coming. I think they deserved something like this for quite some time,” said Wiley.