GMU to Open Sports and Recreation Centre
On Thursday 23 May 2024, during GMU Sports Day, the University will officially open its newly developed Sports and Recreation Centre. The new facility includes a modern sports hall, gym, fitness rooms, saunas, conference rooms, guest accommodation and underground parking. There are also further development plans to connect the building with a new student residence by a skywalk in a second phase of the investment.
"The completion of the development of the Sports and Recreation Centre is an extremely important task for a University which is responsible for the education and training of maritime personnel - commented HM The Rector Professor Adam Weintrit.
"The opening of the Sports and Recreation Centre to the academic community will no doubt improve the conditions of education at our University and will, above all, enable our students to fulfil their sporting interests. Access to the excellently equipped gym with its cardio zone and fitness rooms, as well as the availability of saunas on the 1st and 3rd floors, will certainly have a positive effect on the well-being of young people studying at Gdynia Maritime University. As the well-known Roman maxim goes: Healthy body, healthy soul. We hope that the new building will meet with the approval of the residents of the Grabówek district, as well as the whole of Gdynia, and even the Tricity, and they will be keen to make use of these facilities for recreational purposes."
The modern Sports and Recreation Centre has been built on the site of the previous sports hall, which was demolished in 2020. Due to the poor technical condition and high maintenance costs of the facility, upgrading the hall proved too costly and was not recommended.
A certain challenge in the implementation of the project was the desired location of the Centre which is in a conservation area with listed buildings. The architectural project for the building, which takes into account its particular location, is the work of the company ART Projekt K&M Sp. z o.o.
The construction works were carried out by the company Budimex, with which the contract for the project was signed on 2 August 2022, however, construction work began back in 2020 (demolition of the old sports hall, the relocation of the heating network, preparation of the construction site). In 2022, preparation, surveying, ground, construction, and installation works were carried out, and on 25 May 2023, little more than a year after the contract was signed, the ceremony was held to mark reaching the highest point in the construction of the building. In December of the same year, the progress of the work reached 75%. The final stage of the project included plastering, wall cladding, the installation of concrete floors, the construction of ceilings, window and door joinery, and the roof and the building's facade. Work was also required on the telecommunications installations.
Important aspects considered in plans for the development of the Centre for Sports and Recreation were its functionality and user comfort. In addition to the gym with a cardio and fitness rooms, sports facilities included a sports hall with stands located on the first floor and the ground floor, 9 changing rooms with full sanitary facilities, and rooms for trainers. It was also ensured that the facility would have easy access, both for pedestrians and motorists. An underground garage was built with an entrance from the western side of Grabowo Street, with 49 parking spaces, as well as bicycle racks. In the future, the Centre's car park will be integrated into the car park under the new student residence.
In addition to sports facilities, there are modern conference rooms which increase the functionality of the building.
About the centre's main sports facility, namely the sports hall, Dr Andrzej Lachowicz said:
It is an extremely functional space that fits in with the needs of sports, physical education, and the recreation of students, doctoral candidates and University staff. The technological and architectural solutions used allow for the flexible division of this huge area into three separate playing fields, which will allow basketball, volleyball and football matches to take place in the sports hall at the same time. In addition, there is also climbing separated from the rest of the hall by a safety net."
Guest rooms for sports persons, training staff with kitchen annexes and bathrooms for 40 people. The complex's accommodation will be open to guests from outside, and will certainly be used by athletes and training staff participating in competitions held in the University sports hall.
The GMU Sports and Recreation Centre in Numbers:
- The full cost of the investment, including equipment, is 60m PLN,
- Area of the building: 2192,44 m2
- Cubic capacity: 38 460,21 m3
- Total area of the site: 9 491.87 m2
- Height of the building: 17,0 m
- Number of floors 4
- Number of 1
The investment was financed by a Ministry of Infrastructure grant and the University's own funds.