Recreation and Wellness Centre redevelopment

The construction of the new Recreation and Wellbeing Centre is progressing across the site. The structure and scale of this exciting new building can now be clearly viewed when walking around campus, near sector 300. 

The exterior structure of the building is now in place, floor slabs are poured, stairs are formed and the new outdoor quad reaching to Princes Street is largely constructed.

Many of the internal features are also now taking shape, with the stainless steel pool tank in place, some glazing installed, high level building services being developed and internal structures now being framed up. 

The above images will give you a view of some of the work underway.

The Recreation and Wellness Centre (RWC) project is advancing well, with significant progress now visible on the building structure if you are on campus and passing the site. There are currently two tower cranes operational to help with the erection of the steel superstructure. The vast steel diagrid structure on the Symonds St road frontage can now be seen when you cross the pedestrian crossing from the Engineering building, giving you the chance to experience the scale of the exciting new facility. 

It is currently a challenging environment for construction, with pressure from Covid-19 isolation requirements, supply issues for materials and other obstacles. Despite these headwinds, the project is still on track for completion in 2024. The current expectation is to have the new facility open and fully operational in time for Semester Two, 2024.

The demolition of the the original Recreation Centre located on Symonds Street is now complete. Retention piling, building piling and bulk excavation are also complete. Foundation works for the new Recreation and Wellness Centre will continue throughout Semester Two in preparation for the arrival of structural steel in December.

Everything is on schedule for the Recreation and Wellness Centre to open in 2024.

The demolition of the the original Recreation Centre located at 17 Symonds Street is progressing to schedule and the heavy demolition is nearing completion as we approach the start of the new academic year.  Construction works on the piling for the new Recreation and Wellbeing Centre (RWC) have also begun around the perimeter of the building site.  The final stages of the demolition and the perimeter piling will all be completed by April this year. 

The temporary Recreation Centre is fully operational at 70 Stanley Street, with the interim Sports Centre now fully open on Wynyard St.  Be sure to drop in for a visit of both facilities some time soon. 

Progress on the demolition of the original Recreation Centre located at 17 Symonds Street
is well and truly underway. As sad as it is to say good bye, it is an exciting milestone for the Sport and Recreation team and the University, as we progress towards an exciting future of sport, fitness and wellness.

Our brand new state of the art Recreation and Wellness Centre is due to open in its place in 2024. In the meantime, make sure you check out our current Rec Centre located at 70 Stanley Street.

The construction work to prepare the site for the new Recreation and Wellness Centre has begun and the relocation of the existing facilities is underway.

On 28 January 2020, the Recreation Centre opened its interim facilities at 70 Stanley Street.

Construction of an interim Sports Courts facility has commenced at Wynyard Street with the foundations now installed. The new Sports Courts will open in Semester Two 2020. The current Sports Courts will continue to operate from 17 Symonds Street until the end of Semester One 2020 when the existing facilities will close their doors for the last time.

The project to develop the new recreation and wellness centre on the City Campus is progressing well. The preliminary design stage is complete and the project team are now working on detailed design. It will be business as usual for sport and recreation in the current recreation centre for the remainder of the 2019 academic year. At the end of this year, the enabling works to investigate and prepare the site for the new recreation centre and to upgrade facilities around the Quad will begin.

We will be moving the fitness services from our current recreation centre, 17 Symonds Street, down to interim facilities at 70 Stanley Street in January 2020.  The sports courts will continue to operate at the current recreation centre at 17 Symonds Street for Semester One, 2020 before moving to interim facilities from Semester Two, 2020. Sport and recreation will operate out of our interim facilities until the new recreation and wellness centre is ready in 2024.

At the meeting of University Council on Monday 20 August, the business case for the Recreation Centre redevelopment was approved. This will allow the project to move on to the next stages of planning and design, with demolition of the current facility estimated to begin in mid 2020.

The new facility is expected to open in 2024, with planning underway for interim sport and rec facilities for use during the construction period.