The sports facilities on the new campus are scheduled for completion by the end of the summer. "We hope we will be up and running by August," said Chuck Gordon, recently appointed director of athletics and assistant dean.
"On the new campus we will have a great deal more space and flexibility," said Gordon, referring to the future indoor and outdoor complexes adjacent to the student housing, designed by a team of American architects. "Our hope is to build one of the best sports programs in Egypt and in the region," added Gordon, noting that in the future AUC will also offer sports summer camps and open house events.
The new facilities for outdoor sports will include six clay tennis courts, two grass football fields, an eight-lane track and field, five basketball / volleyball / handball courts, in addition to an Olympic-size pool - that can be heated in winter - for swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming and scuba.
The main multipurpose gymnasium, also referred to as the central court, will house the main competition areas for all indoor sports. The three-level building will feature six squash courts; four exercise rooms for aerobics, dance, and weight lifting; a multipurpose training gymnasium; offices for coaches and administrators; table tennis courts; three class rooms; a basketball court and a suspended three-lane, 300-meter long, running track. The rooftop will feature an outdoor food court.
The locker rooms will be located on the garden level, equipped with rooms for men and women, each with 400 lockers and 17 individual showers. The facility will also feature a laundry facility for fresh towels.
Access to the sports complex will be available to students, staff, and faculty, with alumni and community use options still under review. "Students will be our main priority," Gordon said. "We first want to watch how the students will use the facilities and then look at accommodating the staff and faculty."
Membership conditions for alumni are still under discussion. "We do plan to have special days and access for alumni, but first we need to observe the use patterns of the students, faculty and staff," explained Gordon.
The sports complex will be open seven days a week, from 7 am to 10 pm during the week, with a reduced schedule on weekends. At assigned times certain areas of the facility will be allocated to women only.
Many of the sports venues have been designed to accommodate spectators, some of the stadiums reaching a capacity of 2500 seats. "We will be hosting big sports events on a national, regional and international level," explained Mohamed Taher Ragab Mohamed, associate director of athletics. "We really want to promote AUC and become a big player now that we have such world-class facilities."
In response to this notable expansion, the sports department is planning to hire more coaches and staff. "We will have to increase staff to suit the hours and range of sports activities," said Gordon, citing as an example the future aquatic director that will oversee the management of the lifeguards and all the water sports. Currently AUC's athletics department employs 20 coaches and offers 34 different on- and off-campus sports, ranging from fencing to martial arts.
To view all the sports that will be offered by AUC 's athletics department at the new campus, click here.
March 2, 2008
