Students approved an optional $3 activity fee for the Student Recreation Center by approximately a 2-1 margin in the ASUA general election.

The $3 fee - which was passed by an 1,894 to 922 margin - must now be approved by the Arizona Board of Regents.

The Associated Students of the University of Arizona will try to get the measure on the agenda for the board of regents meeting March 21-22 at the Northern Arizona University campus in Yuma or the April 25-26 meeting at NAU in Flagstaff.

"I do expect the Regents to approve it," said ASUA president-elect Doug Hartz. "When they decided to allow it to be on the ASUA ballot it went right through," he said.

If the regents ratify it, the $3 fee would provide money for newer equipment at the Student Recreation Center, additional funding for club sports, raises for students working at the center and additional money for ASUA.

"I think for the most part, it will benefit students for years to come," said ASUA President Ray Quintero.

The recreation center services 3,000 to 4,000 people daily, making it the second-most-used campus resource, next to the library.

"I'm glad to see it pass," Hartz said. "The rec center affects so much people," he said.

About 63 percent of the center's equipment is more than 10 years old and 82 percent more than 5 years old.

Students could see changes by mid-semester in the fall or at the start of the spring semester in 2003, said Jolyn Tatum, facilities supervisor at the recreation center, who was on the committee to try to get the referendum on the ballot.

Funding for sports clubs will increase substantially. Currently, they receive $30,000, half from ASUA and half from the recreation center.

If the regents approve the fee, the recreation center's contribution to club sports could increase to anywhere from $60,000 to $85,000. The total budget for club sports is more than $525,000.

The $15,000 that ASUA would normally give to sports clubs will stay with ASUA.

"We are going to wait until the summer and sit down and decide," said executive vice president-elect Jennifer Reece.

Another significant part of the Referendum is the pay raise for students who work there, as the center has had trouble keeping employees because the center pays minimum wage.

"The best part of the Referendum is the number of students it impacts, the number of people who use it and work there," Quintero said. "It is $3 put to good use."

The referendum stipulates that the fee will increase annually based on the Consumer Price Index rate, which currently is 2.4 percent or six cents per year.

But the fee will probably not go up for another four years as the Bursar's office does not want it to increase unless it is in round numbers, said Juliette Moore, Student Recreation Center director.

The new fee would augment the current $25 charge, which will be in place until 2011. That fee pays off the bonds taken out to pay for the building.

Students who would not use the recreation center and wish to get to a refund of the $3 activity fee can pick up a form at the center and take it to the Bursar's office in the fall, Moore said.

"The good thing about it is if you never go, you are not forced to pay it," Tatum said.