UVic will ask students to pay a total of $24.5 million to replace the 42-year-old Ian Stewart Complex with a new athletics building if a referendum is approved by students later this year.

The university administration is backing a plan to build a $58.7 million athletics complex, which will likely be built next to the turf fields, where old army huts are currently located.

The new facility would house a varsity basketball gym and recreational gyms for drop-in and intramural use, a climbing wall, an indoor field house for sports such as roller hockey and basketball, a rowing machine room, squash and racquetball courts, weight room, dance studio, general activity space, change rooms and offices for athletics and recreation staff.

The board of governors authorized the UVic administration to spend up to $1.1 million developing a design for the new building. If the project goes ahead, construction could start as early as February 2010, with the building opening its doors in November 2012. However, the facilities may not get built if they don’t get student support. UVic director of athletics and recreation Clint Hamilton said if the referendum fails, the project will be reassessed.

“I came here four years ago, and it took me about two months to realize that the facilities were a source of conflict,” said Hamilton. “It was also a significant strain on our budget to maintain aging facilities. But more importantly, it was a real limiter in terms of what we could offer our students and faculty.”

The building would also include space for CanAssist, an organization based at UVic dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with special needs.

“Students with disabilities will have access to a state-of-the-art facility that will probably be a leader in terms of accessibility,” Hamilton said. He stressed the facilities will allow the university to expand the types of activities it offers students. The new weight room, for example, would have areas for more specialized uses.

“Right now, there’s very little ability to have varsity high-performance training. In the new building, we allow space for that,” Hamilton said. “We’ll also have dedicated space so we can do specialized instruction programs.”

UVic manager of recreation Don Chow said there will be approximately 20 per cent greater intramural and recreation class capacity with the new facilities.

“We’ve got over 20 teams throughout the various activities that go on wait lists — we’re not able to accommodate them,” he said. “I think with the new facilities, we will be able to accommodate both what we’re seeing as over demand, as well as meeting the future growth of the university.”

Chow noted scheduling would also improve with the expanded capacity that new facilities would offer.

“The intramural schedule goes quite late, until 11:30 p.m., and that conflicts with the bus schedule,” he said. “We think we can back that off a bit and help people with their transportation requirements.”

Hamilton also noted the general activity space in the new building would allow flexibility in course offerings.

“I can’t envision in the future what the new recreational programs might be, but I know we’ll need space,” Hamilton said. “And the bigger the space is, the more people we’ll be able to offer that program to.”

Under the plan, athletics and recreation would vacate their offices in the McKinnon building, which would be renovated into lab, research and office space for the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education.

The Ian Stewart Complex “could be made available for other purposes,” with the exception of the ice rink, tennis courts and outdoor pool, the plan noted. A consultant’s report prepared for the university in 2007 suggested that the site could be used for housing or sold to the private sector.

A second phase of the plan, which is not included in the $58.7 million, calls for a 50-metre swimming pool to be added to the new athletics building, while the current pool in the McKinnon gym would be converted into renovation space. However, there is no time-line or plan to fund this phase, which would cost approximately $30 million.

“Right now, it’s a dream. No one can count on a phase two, three, four or seven,” said Doug Nichols, chair of the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education. However, he said the added room in McKinnon under the $58.7 million plan would give the school space for teaching, research and graduate students that has been needed for 25 years.

The university intends to pay for the facility upgrades with $24.5 million from student fees, $15.5 million from donations, $13.7 million from the university and $5 million from athletics revenues.

UVic intends to hold a referendum asking students to approve a $55-per-semester hike in athletic fees, which would raise the fee from its current level of $71.50 per semester to $126.50. A committee is currently trying to decide on a referendum question, and whether or not the increase would kick in right away, or once the new building is opened.

UVic political science professor Dennis Pilon said a referendum may not be the best process for deciding student funding.

“We know from looking at turnout in the student elections that most students are unaware of student government and do not participate in student elections,” he said. “So how legitimate will a referendum be, given that very few students will probably participate in it?”

Pilon said if the university does go ahead with a referendum, it should make sure students are aware of the issues.

“I think the university, at a minimum, would need to invest some resources to make sure there is an effective public discussion about what this is,” he said.

UVic economics professor Daniel Rondeau noted that having current students vote on fees for future students in a referendum is problematic.

“If it takes some effort to go vote and you’re graduating in three months, presumably you won’t vote. The students, if they are not going to see any benefits or costs [from the new athletics facilities], are not going to have any incentives to vote,” Rondeau said. “But if they happen to be in the right place at the right time and they do vote, what are they expressing? What is the information the university wants to have out of this?”

Hamilton said the onus will be on UVic to demonstrate to students that the facilities are worth the student investment.

Caitlin Meggs, chairperson of the UVic Students’ Society, said she is pleased students will have the chance to vote on the facilities.

“While we feel like the consultation process leading up [to the facilities proposal] could have been more transparent for students, we’re really glad that it will go to a referendum so students can decide whether they want to pay for it or not,” Meggs said.

However, Nicole O’Byrne, chairperson of the Graduate Students’ Society, said her organization opposes the athletics fee increase and doesn’t want anything to do with a referendum.

“I think it’s too much money to even ask the question,” O’Byrne said. “Student services fees should not be used to fund capital expenditures.”

Rondeau said charging students who use the new facilities, rather than billing all students, would be a better move.

“As an economist, I’d go for user fees,” he said. “It’s more difficult to plan and manage a facility based on user fees, because you don’t know what your income is going to be tomorrow. On the other hand, it also probably makes for a better facility, because there’s that pressure to have people come through the doors.”

But, even if a referendum passes, the provincial government may outlaw the fee increase. B.C. currently limits tuition fee increases to two per cent per year, which includes mandatory fees such as building fees.

Corinna Filion, communications director for the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, said a referendum wouldn’t give UVic the right to bypass the policy.

The proposed increase would represent a 76.9 per cent increase in the athletic fee, or a 2.08 per cent increase in total tuition and fees for a BA program.