Brooklyn College Recreation, Intramurals & Athletics has moved into their long-awaited new home in the West Quad Building. The office is located on the fourth floor of the West Quad in room 426.

The facilities in the building are awaiting completion which is expected to occur at the end of September. Those facilities include a fitness center with all new, state of the art equipment, a competition and auxiliary gymnasium, a seventy five-foot competition pool, racquetball & squash courts, a dance studio and multipurpose / volleyball room as well as new locker and equipment facilities and athletic training room.

The new competition pool will allow for the resurrection of the Brooklyn College Men’s and Women’s Swimming Teams, which have been on hiatus since 2004 because of construction that eliminated the Plaza Pool. The teams will compete at the club level during the 2009-2010 season, before returning to varsity status next year.

The Office of Recreation, Intramurals and Athletics will function completely in the West Quad Building in early October, but for the time being, recreation will operate out of 125 Roosevelt Hall and all activities will take place in the facilities in Roosevelt Extension. Fall recreation hours will begin on Tuesday, September 8, and will feature extended hours, click here for complete schedule.

With the recent success of the Athletics program, including CUNYAC Championships from Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Basketball and Cheerleading a year ago, Director of Athletics Bruce Filosa and his staff are confident that the new building will enhance the program’s opportunity to compete at a high level.

“The building is fabulous,” said Filosa about the West Quad. “When you enter, there is an unavoidable sense of excitement, of radiance, of beauty. It’s energizing! The space is functional and state-of-the-art. Our students now have the best recreation and athletics facilities in all of CUNY.”

While classes have yet to begin for the fall semester, there have been a number of students who have gotten a sneak-peek at the building, including student-athletes Priscilla Ramirez of the women’s basketball team and Arvind Badhey of the men’s cross country team.

Badhey, a junior who is a student in the prestigious BA-MD program, said, “I am super excited for the opening of the new building because of the new age equipment and facilities we are going to have. Everyone I know is really looking forward to putting it to non-stop use.”

Ramirez, who is entering her first year of graduate school this fall, was also excited about the West Quad, stating, “The building is beautiful! I think it will be a great resource and will inspire lots of students to get involved in different activities. I can’t wait to get into the new gym.

The excitement of the students is echoed throughout as coaches, students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members have been earnestly anticipating the completion of the West Quad and are eager to call it their new home.