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In a blog post yesterday, I discussed use of Rec Sports money to fund the NatUp campaign, and the Herald’s news department followed up with a story on that today. It was my assumption that Rec Sports was using seg fees, but a commenter claimed otherwise:
Well, I’ll wait to see Rec Sports’ budget before I totally believe that, but given the sly way this campaign has been run, it’s not surprising that Rec Sports would know better than to use seg fees.Seg fees are not being used in any way to fund NatUP campaigning. Only private gifts funds to Rec Sports are being used, and all current seg fees are only used to support the operating expenses of each facility.
But the same commenter goes on to say:
Tearing down and completely rebuilding the SERF would be extremely expensive. The NAT expansion and renovation project was chosen because of the available space on lakeshore, the newly approved residence hall being built, and for a lesser cost overall.
Yes, rebuilding the SERF would cost an enormous amount of money. But here’s the thing: That is going to happen, and it’s probably going to need to happen sooner rather than later. The state of the SERF is a more pressing issue to students right now, and even if NatUp passes, that’s not going to change.
Which means that later on this decade, when the SERF has been totally pushed to its limits as population density in downtown Madison increases with more and more students, a campaign for a new SERF will start, and seg fees will probably have to be used for that. Meaning that by the mid 2020s, students could be paying well over $220 a year for exercise facilities — probably more like $300-$400 given the fact that the SERF won’t be cheap.
This means there will be a huge resistance to a second seg fee increase to do the SERF, and Rec Sports will have to compromise by building a smaller scale facility or doing some renovations to the current SERF.
So, let’s do this right. Let’s vote down NatUp today, let’s find some private funding to do minor renovations to the Nat, and let’s propose a new, state-of-the-art SERF on Johnson Street next to Gordon Commons to be funded by private donations and seg fees. See today’s Herald story on City Council’s approval of Gordon Commons for what the current plans for that location are. Doesn’t that look just ripe for a brand, spanking new gym?
That is something I could get behind—even if it is a bigger seg fee increase, it insures that students will have a great facility that is centrally located by the 2020s — instead of one where you can walk outside in the summer and smell cow manure.
IP hash: 0e90c3b2
uhhh a little late on this one buddy! maybe you shouldn’t have written so many negative articles in the first place and the Nat would have happened. This building will not be built for free, students will have to pay for it, but lets figure that out later right? when construction costs are way more than they are now! and when students complain for another decade about their facilities.
IP hash: 0e90c3b2
why didn’t someone from your so called “newspaper” come out and realize this before? are you all smoking weed just like the TAA group? idiots, you are a direct result of tonights election, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.
IP hash: 0e90c3b2
IDIOT! maybe you should have wrote this a few days ago!! but instead you bashed Natup like all your little friends, the campus is screwed because of the biased media, I’ll be checking back to make sure this comment is posted, unlike what I wrote on here yesterday. Its because of this newspaper that students are screwed. This simple investment is nothing compared to what it will be in the future! but no new seg fees told you a bunch of lies as well.
IP hash: 0e90c3b2
its funny that people have to comment the truth on these articles, its embarrassing the reporters dont go out and seek the truth!
IP hash: 010f641a
wow you better put my fucking comments up i’ve proved all your articles wrong… i’d be embarrassed too
IP hash: a4572a9c
IP hash 0e90c3b2 is busted for multiple commenting to make it look like people care about NatUP. Seriously, get a life, it’s over.
IP hash: 87eb254d
okay, im pretty sure that the amount of students enrolled in UW remains quite constant. this is not Yemen…