The Associated Students UCLA board of directors voted unanimously to put in a new arcade in the A-level of Ackerman Union last Friday.
The arcade, which is tentatively named “Coins,” is scheduled to open this fall, said Roy Champawat, director of the student union.
The 19-machine arcade will be coin operated and will be in the current location of FedEx Kinko’s, which concluded its lease with ASUCLA last July.
Champawat said some of the games at the Viewpoint lounge, which is a seating area in Ackerman, will be moved to the new space, but added that ASUCLA is partnered with an organization that monitors college students’ trends, and may implement different games in the future.
Third-year economics student Carlos Corral said he looked forward to the new game room.
“I went to the original UCLA arcade (as a first year) but since they moved just a few of the machines to the Viewpoint lounge, I haven’t been as interested,” Corral said.
With the departure of FedEx Kinko’s, Champawat said ASUCLA is prepared to address the need to make copies in the union.
“We think there is enough demand for a couple of new coin-operated copy machines,” he said.
Christopher Recht, a graduate representative on the ASUCLA board of directors, said there were some initial concerns about putting in a new arcade.
According to an ASUCLA document, other proposed uses of the space included a UPS or GNC store, as well as an ASUCLA-operated copy center.
But Recht added that the arcade gives ASUCLA flexibility, and is easy to remove if it is not successful.
Financial estimates state that the arcade would generate $21,000 to $28,300 in revenue against a capital improvement cost of $7,200, according to an ASUCLA document.
Bob Williams, the executive director of ASUCLA, said the video games in the Viewpoint lounge were not drawing much traffic except from regular gamers, and the new arcade is a safer bet for ASUCLA.
“The new arcade is something we could do for a short amount of time,” Williams said. He added that the board would reevaluate the arcade once a proposed computer gaming center opens in the Cooperage next year.
Besides the new arcade, the ASUCLA board of directors discussed several minor additions to its facilities across campus.
Due to popular demand, the market in Ackerman Union will now carry vitamins and nutritional supplements, Williams said.
In addition, Lu Valle Commons recently implemented full wireless access, and ASUCLA will begin to sell more electronic books on its Web site.
The board also discussed updates regarding the expanded Taco Bell in Ackerman and the cafe in the Broad Arts Center, which are nearly completed and are set to open in the fall.