Dixie State University breaks ground on Human Performance Center
Dixie State University breaks ground on Human Performance Center
Dixie State University hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the addition of the institution’s Human Performance Center.
The ceremony, which drew a crowd of nearly 350 members of the Dixie State and Washington County communities, commenced the construction process for the state-of-the-art fitness and allied health facility.
DSU is working with Layton Construction, MHTN Architects, and Hastings+Chivetta design services on the 155,00-square-foot facility, for which construction will begin next week and is expected to be finished prior to the Fall 2019 semester. The $55 million project is funded by appropriations from the Utah State Legislature, student fees, and donations from Washington County, the City of St. George and private contributors.
The facility will hold the specialized classrooms and labs DSU needs to offer Health and Human Performance programs such as Recreation & Sport Management, Population Health and Exercise Science. The center also will provide the space necessary to partner with the University of Utah to offer Physical and Occupational Therapy programs in southern Utah.
In addition to housing Dixie State’s Campus Recreation and Intramural programs, the building will include exercise facilities such as basketball courts that convert to indoor soccer venues, a student fitness center, the largest climbing wall on a Utah college campus, and an indoor track that connects to an open-air rooftop one via a suspended sprint track. Additionally, the roof will provide space where the University can host special events outside.
The center will feature a 50-meter Olympic-sized swimming pool with deck and spectator space, making it the only pool in southern Utah to meet NCAA requirements to host Division II meets and only the second in Utah to do so.
The Human Performance Center also will cater to the needs of southern Utah’s event-based tourism industry. The facility will be equipped to host local, regional, and state high school swim meets, Huntsman World Senior Games competitions, and community-sponsored sporting events.
For more information about Dixie State University’s Department of Health and Human Performance, visit health.utahtech.edu/health-human-performance.
