Friday, September 27, 2019
  Community, Announcements

By Amanda Alaniz

 PHOTO GALLERY by Paul Chouy
Password: groundbreaking (case sensitive)

PHARR, TEXAS – The City of Pharr, in partnership with UTRGV and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (PSJA ISD), on Sept. 27 celebrated the groundbreaking for a new natatorium.

UTRGV officials, Pharr city officials, members of the PSJA School Board and the community were in attendance.

The aquatics center will be located on the northwest corner of Sioux Road and US 281 and will feature a 50-meter competition pool, a dive pool with springboards and platforms, and spectator seating.

During the opening remarks, UTRGV President Guy Bailey shared appreciation for the partnership and listed sports, such as a swimming and diving program, and possible medical school-related projects with the opening of the new center.

“This is a wonderful day in our history, another red-letter day. It wouldn’t be possible at all without the partnerships and without the leadership,” Bailey said. “This is important for us in a number of ways. We’ll be able to do things here that we could never do before. You’ve opened possibilities.”

UTRGV plans to construct a sports medicine institute adjacent to the new facility in Pharr. The new building will give medical students the opportunity to practice, learn and work with the community to provide sports medicine therapy and care.

Dr. John H. Krouse, executive vice president for UTRGV Health Affairs and dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine, said the future complex will provide medical services to the community and athletes around the Valley.

“This is extremely exciting for all of us,” Krouse said. “We have really appreciated our partnership, from the medical school and the health perspective, with Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez and the city of Pharr. You’ve been our constant supporters and continue to support us in all we do.”

Hernandez, a medical doctor and mayor of Pharr, said everyone is excited about the many opportunities the partnership will provide and the continuing growth for the city.

“We’re very thankful to the university for choosing the City of Pharr for these great ideas to bring together our city and our community as a whole, with a Rio Grande Valley benefit,” he said. 

Construction timeline is pending for the aquatics center.

Groundbreaking ceremony for a new natatorium in partnership with UTRGV, the city of Pharr and PSJA ISD on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019 in Pharr, Texas.
Groundbreaking ceremony for a new natatorium in partnership with UTRGV, the city of Pharr and PSJA ISD on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019 in Pharr, Texas.



ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.