Houstonian: Donation sparks new recreation for students

From the Houstonian:

A $6.5 million HKC renovation and a university campground on 345 acres of land topped the agenda during the SGA meeting Tuesday night.

"These are two projects that are geared toward the students," said Dean Keith Jenkins, director of recreational sports.

The construction of the addition to the HKC will begin in December 2003 and will take 12 months to complete. The new recreational sports building will encompass a 10,000 square foot weight room, two new pools and a climbing wall and boulder.

Dean Jenkins also showed the proposed plan for a university campground to the SGA body. The campground will be located 10 minutes away from campus in Riverside.

"In 1989 the Board of Regents voted for the campground, and we have had student organizations ask for a place to retreat," said Jenkins. He said, the price of the campground varies from the degree of facilities the SHSU student body wants out there.

"It just depends on how much we want to do. The sky is the limit. The price could range from one dollar to a couple million."

The land was donated to SHSU a couple of years ago by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "The school is not paying anything to maintain it now."

The plans for the campground include a clear water pond, outdoor pavilion, ropes and challenges course, dorm-like housing, boat launches, outdoor tennis courts and a Native American Cultural Center. "A lot of details have not yet been worked out."