The​ ​University​ ​of​ ​Arizona’s Student​ ​Recreation​ ​Center​ ​had​ ​an​ ​official ribbon cutting​ ​ceremony​ ​to​ ​introduce​ ​the​ ​new,​ ​updated​ ​locker​ ​rooms on​ Thursday,​ ​Oct.​ ​26.

With the Thursday opening, ​the​ ​locker​ ​rooms​ ​are​ ​ready and open to​ ​everyone. The project, started in​ ​Spring​ ​2015, was undertaken to address many structural issues, as well as​ ​to​ ​accommodate​ ​all ​people. 

Michele​ ​Schwitzky,​ ​interim​ ​director​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Rec​ ​Center,​ explained, ​“The​ ​number-​one ​thing​ ​is it makes​ ​the​ ​Campus​ Rec​ ​much​ ​more​ ​inclusive​ ​for​ ​all​ ​students. ​Because​ ​of​ ​accessibility​ ​and​ ​all gender​ ​spaces,​ ​that’s​ ​what​ ​we’re​ ​most​ ​excited​ ​about.”

​Josh​ ​Hamilton,​ ​assistant​ ​director​ ​of​ ​sports​ ​programs​ at the Rec​ ​Center,​ ​said​​ ​his favorite​ ​part​ ​of​ ​the​ ​renovated​ ​locker​ ​rooms​ ​was​ ​the​ ​spacial​ ​aspect.​ 

           RELATED: Summer Rec Center construction wraps Sept. 15 after delay

​The​ ​locker​ ​rooms​ ​now include​ ​a​ ​lounge,​ ​called​ ​the​ ​“rec-oasis,” ​walk​-in​ ​shower​ ​stalls,​ ​larger​ ​bathroom​ ​stalls ​and all-gender​ ​bathrooms​ ​and​ ​showers,​ ​which​ ​also​ ​include​ ​handicap​ ​stalls.

Schwitzky said the new​ ​features​ ​include 14​ ​all-gender​ ​cabanas, hair​ ​dryers​ ​and shower​ ​stalls​ ​with more​ ​private amenities​ ​like a​ ​curtain, a door,​ ​a​ ​towel​ ​tracker​ ​and​ ​more.

​Edgar​ ​Parra,​ a​ ​2015​ ​UA​ ​graduate of ​the​ ​College​ ​of​ ​Architecture​ ​and member of the design team for the Breckenridge Group, the architecture firm contracted to re-design the bathrooms,​ ​attended​ ​the​ ​ribbon​ ​cutting​ ​ceremony​ ​and​ ​was​ ​thanked for his​ ​hard​ ​work.

Parra ​touched​ ​on​ ​the​ ​fact​​ that ​the​ ​locker​ ​rooms​ are ​well​ over​ 20 years old, having been built in 1990.The​ ​age​ ​of​ ​the​ ​locker​ ​rooms​ was ​part​ ​of​ ​the​ ​reason​ the team decided​ ​to​ ​renovate. 

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