The U of A is excited to welcome students and the campus community back to the renovated Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building, better known as HPER, on Monday, Aug. 18 — just in time for the first day of the fall semester!

After more than a year of extensive renovations, the refreshed facility now offers over 22,000 square feet of brand-new fitness space, including state-of-the-art equipment, turf training zones and modernized amenities designed to elevate every experience.

"We're thrilled to open the doors to the new and improved HPER Building," said Kristin DeAngelo, executive director of University Recreation and Wellness. "This space plays a huge role in supporting our students' health, wellness and sense of community. We deeply appreciate the support from our students and campus partners — we can't wait to see you here!"

The $23 million renovation, approved in November 2023 and launched in summer 2024, was made possible through general obligation bonds funded by existing student facilities fees. Most importantly, students played a key role in shaping the vision, from feedback and design suggestions to representation on the planning committee by members of the Associated Student Government, Graduate Professional Student Congress and the UREC student staff.

Beginning Aug. 18, the HPER Building will be accessible via two entrances — one on the service drive to Barnhill Arena (between HPER and the Meadow Street Parking Garage) and one on Stadium Drive. Please note: Access to the pool will return to the second-floor locker room area, instead of the Meadow Street entrance.

Entry into the facility will be managed through turnstiles, which can be accessed using a valid University ID or the barcode scanner in the UREC Arkansas app. 

As final preparations are made for the reopening, some equipment in HPER Gym 1 will be temporarily unavailable Aug. 11-15. However, the first-floor equipment, gymnasiums, UREC Outdoors and other services will remain open. To make your visit easier during this time, use the Meadow Street Parking Garage entrance or check out the UREC Fitness Center on the second floor of the Arkansas Union.

The project was made possible through the collaboration of several key partners, including architects SmithGroup and Hufft, construction by C.R. Crawford, construction services provided by U of A Facilities Management, and environmental and experiential design by RSM Design.

We're excited to share this incredible space with you! Check out updated fall HPER Building hours here and plan your wellness experience today. Stay in the loop by following @urecarkansas on Instagram.