UW Oshkosh’s new Rec Plex will hold an open house on Nov. 6 to give students an insight on the new facility.

The Rec Plex is a 4.35-acre recreational complex with lighted, multi-use synthetic turf, a 3,000-plus square foot support building and a seasonal dome from approximately November through May to allow year-round recreation.

The Rec Plex has only been open since the start of the semester, but it’s already being put to good use with many different clubs and activities taking advantage of the new facility.

Associate Director of Student Recreation Tony Dirth said that within the couple months the facility has been open, there have been many activities taking place on the field, including club practices in the evening.

“We’ve had athletic practices in the mornings and some afternoons,” Dirth said. “We’ve had open drop-in recreations so students would come in and kick the soccer ball around or play football, frisbee, that kind of stuff.”

Women’s Lacrosse Club President Alexandra Fischer said that she goes to the Rec Plex about three times a week for practice and that it’s an amazing asset to the school compared to the other field the lacrosse team has had practice at.

“Before, my team had to practice at the East Hall Fields, which, with the landscaping there, it caused a lot of injuries,” Fischer said. “It also took a lot of time to paint fields. The Rec Plex solves all these problems for my team, and I’m sure other teams and programs that have had to use the East Hall Fields.”

Ultimate Frisbee Club Vice President Jason Hataj said with the turf, he no longer has to worry about muddy, slippery or frozen fields.

“The lights work great as well,” Hataj said. “They are very bright so that outdoor sports can easily be played an extra for hours in the evenings, which is fantastic since most students aren’t available for sports during the day.”

The Rec Plex is adjacent to the Gruenhagen Conference Center and has the same hours as the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

Dirth said the open house will consist of different people talking about the facility, including the chancellor, as well as a possibility to see the new dome that will be on the field for winter.

“There will be a chance for a question and answer, then to kind of just walk around,” Dirth said. “By that time the dome should actually be up so we will have a chance to show that off and let everyone see what is possible, come winter time, with the dome like it is.”

Fischer said she believes the more students attending the Rec Plex open house, the better.

“There are so many opportunities and access students get included with their tuition that they don’t know about,” Fischer said. “The more educated students are, the more they will get out of attending a university.”

All a student has to do to use the Rec Plex is to swipe their TitanCard at the welcome desk. Dirth said that any student is able to use the field, depending on whether or not it’s reserved for a club.

“The only times that it wouldn’t be open is if it is being reserved for one of those other programs,” Dirth said. “But in general, any time where there’s not something scheduled, it’s open for students to come in any time.”

Hataj said he highly encourages students to use the Rec Plex because not many students or schools have an indoor turf field they can use during the winter.

“I’ve always found that exercise and sports are a great stress reliever for me,” Hataj said. “And the fact that I’ll get to play sports on a full-sized field rather than a cramped gym this winter is amazing.”

Hataj said the open house will be a great way to learn all that the facility has to offer because club sports and intramurals will be able to utilize the facility.