New Balance Student Recreation Center
For updates on facility or area closures due to facility rentals, maintenance, and other scheduled activities, please visit our Facebook page.
Please refer to the calendar HERE for our facility hours and what days we are closed.
The highly-celebrated New Balance Student Recreation Center is a fabulous addition to the recreational opportunities at the University of Maine. Before designing the 87,000+ square foot facility, Cannon Design employed a consulting firm to survey a wide range of students, faculty, and staff about what they would like to see in a campus recreation facility. The $25 million result has become a community hub for campus and the surrounding towns.
It is also a “green” building. Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), a nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, promotes sustainability through key areas. Providing measurements for success, LEED evaluates sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Campus Recreation and the University of Maine has been awarded Silver Certification under LEED.
As you approach the building, it is immediately clear that it was designed to reflect the beauty of the Maine outdoors. Its facade incorporates natural stone, and copper that will tarnish as it ages.
The Rec Center is located right next to DeMeritt Forest’s 15+ miles of trails. Facility users can strap on their skis or snowshoes, and access the trails just a few feet from the back door. Cross-country skis and snowshoes are available for rent at the Maine Bound Adventure Center.
Inside, windows stretch from floor to ceiling, letting in the natural light and serving up a great view with each workout.
The floor plan is very open, encouraging a sense of community.
The leisure pool has large windows around three sides, and a beautiful wooden ceiling and walls. The water is maintained at a balmy temperature, and is up to 4.5′ deep. There are two 25-yard lap lanes, a vortex current pool, a shallow splash area with fountain, a 20-person hot tub, and a large leisure area with hot-water-jet bench seating. There is a co-ed sauna in the pool area as well. The pool area is available for rent, with or without the adjacent multipurpose room.
There are 150+ pieces of cardio and weight equipment in several separate areas. One area for cardio equipment, one area for selectorized weights, one area for plate-loaded weight equipment and free weights, and one area for stretching as well as functional and free-weight training. There is also a small circuit area upstairs between the track and the Foster Multi-Purpose Room.
There are two multipurpose rooms with impact-cushioned wooden athletic floors. They all have mirrors and individual control of the sound system, and the largest of the rooms has ballet bars and can be divided in half by a movable wall. They are all available to rent; there are floor coverings available if tables and chairs are required. For meetings, the conference room in our Administrative Suite is also available.
Three wood-floor courts are available for volleyball and basketball; their impact-cushioned floors are comfortable on players’ joints. Two of these courts are also tick-marked for badminton and pickleball. The nets can be raised and lowered by remote control, and the scoreboards are digital.
There is a Multiple Activity Court (MAC) with a synthetic floor, dasher boards, and inset goals. This court is suitable for floor hockey, soccer, and many other uses.
Finally, there are two glass-fronted racquetball courts that are convertible to squash.
The Student Recreation and Fitness Center has something for everyone!
View Floor Plans:
Awards & Nominations:
The UMaine Recreation and Fitness Center has been awarded a 2009 Special Mention for Excellence in Architecture by the American Institute of Architects: New England.
The UMaine Recreation and Fitness Center was included in the 2008 Athletic Business Architectural Showcase.
The UMaine Recreation and Fitness Center has been awarded Silver Certification under the U.S. Green Buildings Council’s Green Building Rating System, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
The UMaine Recreation and Fitness Center is a National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) 2008 Outstanding Sports Facility (OSF) Award Winner! OSF Awards recognize creative, innovative designs of new, renovated, or expanded collegiate recreational facilities. Winners are considered standards by which other collegiate recreational facilities should be measured.
Use of Campus Recreation Resources for Unaffiliated Organized Activities:
Campus Recreation facilities, equipment, and other resources may only be used for personal recreation and fitness.
Campus Recreation facilities, equipment, and other resources may not be used for coaching, personal training, instruction, or other similar purposes unless conducted by 1) Campus Recreation employees as a part of their employment, or 2) by entities authorized by the Campus Recreation Associate Director.
Any other organized activities must be approved and scheduled by the Campus Recreation Assistant Director for Operations.