CSU Stanislaus President Hamid Shirvani led the official ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony for the new Student Recreation Complex by giving the students total credit for the great accomplishment.
Shirvani said that 62% of students voted to approve the Student Recreation Complex and pay student fees to fund it.
Located at the corner of Geer Road and Christoffersen Parkway, the 24-acre Complex includes a fitness center, 2,300-seat lighted soccer stadium, the Al Brenda all-weather track, and lighted intramural sports fields.
Shirvani also noted that renowned architect Thomas Gordon Smith designed the 18,500 square-foot student fitness center.
The Latin words “UBI VIRTUS IBI VICTORIA” are etched above the entrance of the fitness center and is a term the students picked out that means “where there is courage, there is victory.”
Mayor John Lazar acknowledged the naming of the new all-weather track after the late Al Brenda, a coaching and athletic legend in Turlock who died in September 2001.After Mayor Lazar announced that he was a CSU Stanislaus alumnus (1981), he presented a City of Turlock proclamation recognizing the opening of a great venue in Turlock.
Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa congratulated not only CSU Stanislaus and President Shirvani but also the students who really made this happen.Chiesa spoke to the proud fact that his District 2, in southern Stanislaus County, has a world class university in Turlock and now has a premiere Student Recreation Complex to host soccer matches, track and field meets, and other regional events.
Other dignitaries and representatives congratulated CSU Stanislaus on its Student Recreation Complex. Turlock Councilwomen Amy Bublak and Mary Jackson attended the event.
Brenda family members, Abe Rojas, and other supporters of local athletics also attended the ceremony.
People were given tours of the new fitness center and after watched a pair of soccer matches. A record crowd of nearly 1,900 soccer fans cheered on the men’s and women’s CSUS Warriors soccer teams.
View more pictures in the TurlockCityNews.com photo gallery.
