Fitness center to undergo
renovations
By Dave Stephens
Assistant
Campus Editor
The clank of metal,
the smell of sweat and the general fitness of their students is something
the Purdue University Board of Trustees wants to continue.
That is why the
board approved a $5 million renovation of the Recreational Sports Center
on July 16.
The renovation will
focus mainly on the weight training and cardiovascular fitness areas,
almost doubling the current 10,000 square feet of space to 19,000 square
feet.
"The new weight
training rooms will also be more aesthetically pleasing," said
Carol Stickel, director of the Recreational Sports Center. "And
the rooms will be air conditioned."
The new training
facility will have more than 200 pieces of weight equipment. To accommodate
the new equipment, the walls that currently divide the weight room into
four separate rooms will be torn down. The additional space needed for
the renovation will come from removing the racquetball and handball
courts.
The renovations
are expected to begin in January of 2002 and be completed sometime in
the fall of 2002. During that time, the weight training equipment will
be moved to the south gymnasium.
Stickel said that
during that time, people wanting to play badminton and volleyball, which
are normally played in the south gymnasium, will be able to use the
courts in other gymnasiums.
"I think, right
now, it’s way too overcrowded," said Adam Dyer, a junior in
the School of Technology. "It’s really in need of a renovation."
Dyer, who works
out in the weight room several times a week, said he hopes the renovations
will include some new types of weightlifting equipment, like the kind
he is used to using at his hometown YMCA.
"The (center)
has more machines than other places," said Dyer, "but they
are not in as good of a condition as at other places."
Stickel said the
renovated weight room will contain both old and new equipment, making
it a "state of the art facility."
Besides the weight
room renovations, other changes could be coming to the center in the
future. With the opening of the Aquatic Center today, the old Recreational
Sports Center pool will be closed. Stickel said there are many possibilities
for use of the space, but no decision has been made at this time.
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