![\"UL](\"http:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/UL-Arena-570x427.jpg\")
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By Seamus Toomey<\/p>\n
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The Arena Extension is underway and looks set to be done in its entirety by this time next year, barring any delays, An Focal has been told by Director of Sport in UL, David Mahedy.<\/p>\n
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What does this mean for UL? Well, it\u2019s good news for our clubs and societies particularly our water-based clubs. With an additional pool there\u2019ll be less fighting between our Kayak, Surf and Swim clubs for pool time and perhaps they may even be able to use the separate pools at the same time.<\/p>\n
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With this being said, the Arena are still playing with the timetable and what they will be able to do with it in the near future.<\/p>\n
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Director of Sport in UL, David Mahedy explained: \u201cThere will be hours available to the various clubs because we can split it up and we can still have swimming going on so you\u2019re not canceling stuff and it might be that it\u2019s back in the main pool but we\u2019ll be able to juggle the timetable a lot better and you\u2019ll have earlier times.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Along with this the general public who use the Arena will be able to avail of more space once Munster Rugby moves out. The National Strength and Conditioning Centre, or Elite Gym as it\u2019s known to most, is going to be available for use by the general public likely to help combat the problem of the often overcrowded Health and Performance area. This can\u2019t happen until Munster Rugby leaves the facility though.<\/p>\n
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There is good news however (and bad), Munster\u2019s new facility will be finished in July of 2016 meaning they should have flown the coop by July or August. The bad news is sort of bittersweet good news – the upstairs is going to be renovated meaning it\u2019ll be revamped for the public, the bitter part being that this means it will be out of access for an undefined period of time. If all goes to plan there is a good chance that it will become available within the first semester.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhat is going to happen is that we will be able to reconfigure the second floor here. As Munster move out it means that the whole second floor will become available to be used. Now we can\u2019t start that until Munster move out, so that can only start in, say, August next year,\u201d said Mr. Mahedy.<\/p>\n
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What exactly they\u2019re going to do with the second floor is still unsure, they haven\u2019t fully decided as there\u2019s a lot of possibilities. Mr. Mahedy uses boxing as an example of one of the possibilities seeing as there\u2019s a large club in the University, or splitting the space between that and a spinning studio which would take up very little space.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re toying with ideas but it\u2019s kind of a knock-on effect of Munster moving out of that space becomes available,\u201d Mr. Mahedy explained.<\/p>\n
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Speaking to An Focal, he also defended the decision to continue building the extension regardless of not having the student levies helping (narrowly missing getting student levies with a 63% Yes under a supermajority vote).<\/p>\n
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Instead of discarding the work they had already done, the Arena decided to continue on to get the university these facilities and so far that has been off the back of their own commercial activities.<\/p>\n
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This is likely part of the reason that membership fees for both the 4 month and 8 month term for UL students have gone up in the past year.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re funding this ourselves so we have to generate enough money because we didn\u2019t get the agreement with the students to come in on that, but we felt that this was needed rather than stopping the whole thing.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou see this project included the climbing wall, included the handball, included the pool.\u00a0 There was no point in stopping for two or three years which would have been ridiculous, especially when we had gone through all the drawings and done a certain amount.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Mr. Mahedy added: \u201cThe arena and our existing business will pay for this itself – there\u2019s nothing coming, there\u2019s no grants but what we\u2019re hoping is that maybe the students will come on board with the other facilities and it\u2019ll balance out.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOtherwise we would have stopped and we\u2019d have got nothing, which would have been a waste and waiting two or three years and then going again and the whole thing changes and the price goes up – now we got it probably not at a good time but at a better time than now because the prices would keep going up.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Mr. Mahedy also put rumours to rest that the Arena is hoping to host the Olympics.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe second pool was needed for it being full at times. Now I know where that Olympics rumour would come from that you needed a warm up pool but we don\u2019t have enough spectator accommodation anyway – there\u2019s only 500 spectator accommodation there, that\u2019s not changing – so no would be the answer to that but it does mean we can take other events and still have a body of water. Like last weekend, for example, we had a gala on and nobody else could use the place.\u201d<\/p>\n