The Martlet

This election period, students will be asked if they want to pay an additional $55 in athletics fees in order to support the building of a new athletics facility.

A student-run petition has garnered support to pose the question to students via referendum during the UVic Students’ Society (UVSS) elections in March.

“The government is no longer funding athletics buildings so we’re hoping for student support and we’re trying to put the new fee in, and going through the UVSS to do that,” said petition organizer and Vikes women’s rugby captain Jesse Olynyk.

The university ran a non-binding ballot on the fee increase in October 2009 which demonstrated 53 per cent student support for the fee, out of the 20 per cent of students who participated.

Now Olynyk is hoping students will confirm this support through the UVSS referendum, which would be binding. She, with a small, tight-knit team of petitioners, has collected 2,151 signatures, more than the requisite 10 per cent of the student population needed to call a referendum.

“There seemed to be a lot of support, but we talked to just over 2,000 undergrads; there’s a lot more undergrads out there. Hopefully the support that we saw is universal,” she said. “I just think students should take a look at it and realize that it’s a wellness thing and it will add to our campus.”

Plans have continued for the facility since the consultative ballot.

“We’re at a point now where we’re very close to having the detailed design of the facility completed. That work’s been continuing, as has legwork around the fundraising component of the facility,” said Clint Hamilton, director of Athletics and Recreation.

Of the $59 million project, students would contribute close to $21 million, with the university matching that contribution. The rest would be raised through external fundraising initiatives.

“When you look at other projects that have been built both in the United States and in Canada, you’ll see that in some cases the full burden of projects like this fall to the students to step up and absorb the full cost,” said Hamilton. “In this case we’ve got a pretty good equation.”

The new facility would be built where the old army hut buildings were located, behind the McKinnon building.

“It’s going to encompass new weight rooms, new gyms for rec and intramurals; it’s also going to have a new spectator gym, a rock wall which has been a really big draw for a lot of people,” said Olynyk. “Second phase, they’re looking at having a 50-metre pool and a hot tub; there’s going to be parking opposite the new building. It’s also going to house CanAssist as well as some offices and classroom space.”

The new facility will also include athletics and recreation offices, a large field house and squash courts.

“All of the things that were incorporated in the design that we were telling students about with the consultation process,” explained Hamilton.

One perk for students is that the new facility would be located right on campus.

“I mean [Ian Stewart] is not far but yet it is because there’s no fast way to get there, and then you feel lazy for taking the bus,” said Olynyk. “On campus is definitely a benefit.”

Elements of McKinnon gym would stay in use, including the pool, dance studio and gyms.

“The rest of McKinnon becomes renovated and repurposed to meet the school of exercise physical health education priorities,” said Hamilton.

The majority of the facilities at Ian Stewart will be decommissioned, because they will be core components of the new facility.

If the referendum passes, construction on the new facility could move ahead very quickly.

“My hope as a director would be that, pending a successful student referendum, we would go to the construction phase very quickly,” said Hamilton. “My hope would be [construction would take]18–24 months afterwards after they start to completion . . . I know we could use it yesterday.”

UVSS Chairperson James Coccola says that, while athletics fee referendums haven’t been held through the UVSS in the past 20 years, it was a practice in the ’80s.

“It’s happening [now] because the university and some students want to build a building but there’s no funds to pay for it,” he explained. “My ideal would be for the province to step up and pay for this, but as far as I know the province is not going to be giving out money to anyone anytime soon.”

Coccola said whether or not students fund this new building is now up for them to decide.

“Really the question comes down to, if students want this, this would be a way for them to do this,” he said. “If students don’t think it’s appropriate for funding to go this way, they can make it known.”

Olynyk hopes referendum results represent as many students as possible. The last UVSS election and referendums saw approximately 20 per cent voter turnout.

“I just encourage everyone to come out and vote so we can get a really good representation of what students think and not what just 15 or 20 per cent think,” she said.