Students at the University of Wisconsin will vote in March to decide if a $223-million project to renovate the campus’ fields, gyms, and other recreational facilities is worth a hike in fees. The fee for recreational sports facilities would jump from $37 per student per semester to $145.
The director of recreational sports, John Horn said the aging facilities were built for a much smaller body of students, and that the renovations would bring the school into parity with other Big Ten schools. The fees would not kick in until the new facilities are open, with the earliest upgrade scheduled for completion in 2016 and the latest in 2022. This would mean that the students voting on the referendum would never actually use the new facilities, nor would they incur the increased fees.
Still the proposed renovations have been met with some scrutiny in the face of “mounting student debt and pressure from state lawmakers to contain student costs,” the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
