Students to pick between nat, event center

The Lake C. Oxford Natatorium has changed. Paint chips aren’t falling from the ceiling into the pool. Light fixtures have been replaced. The water heater has been repaired. The brush along the bayou  is cleared.
On the surface, the natatorium today is a far cry from the dilapidated building that existed before the YMCA took over in January.
Still, students will decide this week if the improvements are enough to keep the pool open, or if it’s time for a change.
Students will decide this week if they want to keep the natatorium or instead renovate it into an event center.
The measure would include a fee increase of $25 to fund the project, which has an estimated price tag of $4 million.
Frederick Huenefeld, a community organizer working to save the natatorium, said the University had plenty of places to hold events already. He pointed to the conference center in the library, the Biedenharn recital hall, the coliseum and the SUB as places people can currently have events.
“Why spend another $4 million on a place that will sit empty 80 percent of the time?” said Huenefeld. “We don’t need it.”
But some at ULM say it is needed.
“Yes, I would tell you in a minute. From a scheduling point of view, we need another place,” said Camile Currier, assistant vice president of Student Affairs.
Currier said Biedenharn is designed for specialized events, like concerts. He said the coliseum doesn’t have acoustics for meetings, and most meeting rooms are full during the week. The SUB, he said, is over-used, garnering 1,700 events in its opening year alone.
Currier said the proposed event center would solve scheduling conflicts and allow large groups to book it year-round.
“This is where you get people on campus,” Currier said. “It’s a tremendous recruiting tool.”
Huenefeld and YMCA Dir. Chris Pealer said the natatorium brings in people, too.
He pointed to a recent triathlon that brought 900 people to ULM and a swim meet that brought in 500.
Students will have to decide what is best for ULM: a natatorium or an event center. If voters are basing their decision on usage numbers, the waters get murky in a hurry.
The University closed the natatorium in July based on data showing only 20 to 25 students used the pool weekly. Currier said 125 students used the pool at least once during the year.
Pealer said the usage has seen a remarkable turnaround since January. He said right now 308 students and 513 community members have joined the natatorium since the YMCA took over.
The University’s number, however, is starkly different.
Currier said the University shows only eight students have joined since January. Students are supposed to swipe their IDs at the Warhawk ID office to be added to the list of natatorium users.
“The question is ‘active’ people,” Currier said. “It was easy for us to say we had 8,000 members because we had that many students.”
The true number likely lies somewhere in between. Caleb Read, the YMCA aquatics director, estimates about 30 students use the pool per day. He said student groups like the ROTC, track team, triathlon team and golf team use the pool regularly.
“People use this thing,” Read said. “If you come in around 4:30 p.m., every lane is full.”
Also factoring into students’ decision is a proposed $8-10 million water complex in Bayou Park. The new complex would include outdoor/indoor swimming areas, a lazy river, an amphitheater and boat dock.
However, the Bayou Park pool has no real bearing on the nat’s future. The YMCA would likely still operate the natatorium even if the new complex is built.
Only the event center would displace the natatorium’s swimmers.
“You can make something good out of it. You don’t have to close it,” Pealer said.
Students can vote through their Banner accounts or by using the ULM smartphone application.
In addition to the pool referendums, students will also decide on their SGA representatives and the Student Success Fee renewal.