Standing atop a dirt patch beside Hornet Stadium on Tuesday, some Sacramento State student leaders unveiled their plans for a referendum to raise funds to build a $73 million Recreation/Wellness/Events Center, including a 6,500-to 8,000-seat arena.

If approved by student voters April 27-28, the 236,000-square-foot, three-story complex would wrap around the track on the stadium's north turn. To help pay for it, the referendum includes a new $110 per semester recreation fee that wouldn't be fully implemented until the project secures $25 million in community donations.

The major attraction for Sac State's 28,000 students would be the facility's recreation, fitness and health attributes. Among the amenities in that 71,000-square-foot wing: a 300-seat movie theater, a 25-meter indoor pool, indoor basketball and racquetball courts, a bowling alley, an indoor track, an indoor soccer field, a rock-climbing wall and a child-care and fitness center. The complex would also include a state-of-the-art wellness center with emergency services and physical therapy.
"We believe it to be a one-of-a-kind facility," Associated Students president Peter Ucovich said. "It brings together everything a student needs under one roof."

Student leaders expect the referendum to be well supported. More than 2,600 students responded to a mail questionnaire on the project, and 71 percent stated they'd be willing to pay a new $99 to $150 per semester fee to build it, Ucovich said.

Ground breaking is hoped for 2007, with completion in 2008. The fee, obligated for 30 years, would help pay for a bond of up to $50 million.

"I'm behind this 110 percent," said university president Alexander Gonzalez, who has been publicly pushing for an arena complex for two months. "The students took the lead, and they've done their homework."

With the students, Gonzalez believes he has the sort of strong partnership he needs to sell the project to potential donors. Developer Alex Spanos, who helped Sac State upgrade Hornet Stadium to a world-class track and field venue, told The Bee earlier this month that he would definitely be involved.

"We haven't done any real campaigning yet," Gonzalez said. "Without the student vote, (the project) would be very difficult to do."

Arena building has been a much-discussed goal of campus officials since 1984.

Hornet Gym, one of the oldest facilities in the California State University system, opened in 1955 and seats 1,068. Although it received a $250,000 face lift in 2000, Hornet Gym ranks as the oldest facility in Division I basketball with no major renovations, said sports information director Brian Berger.

Sac State faculty has mixed views on the project, said Academic Senate president Bob Buckley, who has taught at the school since 1977. But there are selling points, he said. Besides sports and entertainment, the arena/events center could be used for on-campus commencements, something faculty has wanted for a long time.

This student-fee approach worked at UC Davis, which has used the money to help its recreation and sports programs grow while building new facilities. In recent years, UCD students have approved three referendums.

In the early 1990s, they created the Student Activities and Services Initiative, now a $92 per-quarter fee that helps pay for Aggies athletics and other campus programs.

In 1999, students voted for the Facility And Campus Enhancement initiative to raise money for three projects: an aquatics center, which opened in January; the Athletic Recreation Center, scheduled to open next month; and a new 15,000-seat football stadium, projected for 2005. That fee is being phased in with the opening of the facilities. Currently $24 per quarter, it will shoot up to $105 this spring.

UCD's recreational programs have started moving into ARC - the nickname for the new rec center built next door to the campus' Recreation Hall. Built in 1977 as a combination sports and student recreational complex, Rec Hall will be renovated to focus on sports use.

The Campus Expansion initiative, passed in 2002, will help UCD's sports programs move to Division I.

By comparison, Sac State's proposed RWEC fee looks like a bargain and a good investment in the school's future, Ucovich said, noting the students used the same process to fund the campus University Union 15 years ago.

"This is more than a building," Ucovich said of the RWEC plan. "It's a statement of pride and community."