The Collegian

Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: News

Groundbreaking for the new intramural sports building will not happen next fall. Adminis- trators delayed it indefinitely, due to insufficient funding and an influx of new ideas, Vice President of Administration Rich Péwé said.

Those new ideas include the possibility of building a fitness club instead of a building designed primarily for intramural sports, he said. It could also include an indoor track larger than the one in the Roche Sports Complex.

"Certainly things are fluid," Péwé said. "We were headed in one direction but now we might be taking a step back because, from a donor standpoint, we thought we had some funds available, but maybe not for a while now."

The Parents Association Steering Committee held a raffle during Parent Weekend in February, the winner of which won a boat cruise. It raised a large amount of money but fell short of its goal, said Mary Ewers, director of parent relations.

"We were trying to sell 300 tickets," she said. "We sold 282 at $300 dollars each. By the time we pay for all the expenses, we made $52,000 for the IM building. I was sorry we didn't sell the last 18 tickets - we left that on the table so that potential was untapped and that was a bummer."

Péwé said he could not confirm details about how much money the fund currently contains or how much the building will cost. But he said the administration needs to consider other options for the facility's design, too.

"At the time we planned the IM building, that might have been the best possible plan," he said. "But as time has gone by, we have a very intelligent athletic director who's very in tune with the student-athletes' needs and so on. He was brought in when we were really trying to launch the fitness program."

Athletic Director Don Brubacher said he wants to make sure the project moves in the direction that will benefit students most.

"What I've attempted to do is think in terms of facility needs in terms of general student needs - IM, club sports and varsity sports," he said. "I've tried to look at what needs exist for each of those areas, and I've tried to meet all those needs as efficiently as possible."

Péwé said the administrators need to decide on the options they will present to President Larry Arnn.

"We're really taking a step back and seeing how what we can do to fit everyone's needs," he said. "Maybe something could be done quicker, but that might be a more intimate facility or a combination of facilities."

Both Péwé and Brubacher said only a couple of the lanes of the sport complex's track meet competition standards, which prevents the school from hosting GLIAC tournaments. They said that deficiency could affect plans for the IM building.

They still plan to place the building at the site of a college-owned house on Union Street, called The Ramp. The site lies directly behind the unpaved parking lot of the sports complex. Since he has no timetable for groundbreaking or construction, Péwé said he doesn't know what administrators will do with The Ramp next semester.

"We'll make the decision about the house at the end of the term," Péwé said. "You never know. If we were on track to build in August then absolutely we wouldn't make the mistake of allowing students in and disrupting their lives, but we'll know better later."

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