Roche revamp advances

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Roche revamp advances

The first phase of construction for the Roche Sports Complex arena is now complete. Students can now take full advantage of all the courts and the new fitness center.

With the new facility, Athletic Director Don Brubacher said students have more opportunities to exercise, whether that be for recreational purposes or just staying fit.

“It’s safer, it’s faster, and so much more convenient,” he said. “You almost can’t hurt yourself on this equipment.”

Along with the various cardiovascular and strength-based machinery, Brubacher said some free weight equipment was added recently as well.

Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé emphasized that the old days of long wait times are gone. The fitness center prioritizes the general student body rather than sports teams.

“If you’ve ever been down to the weight room at 3:30, it’s pretty full. Even the cardio stuff,” Péwé said. “But now, the varsity coaches won’t have their athletes do free weights in the new fitness center. They’ll go downstairs instead. There won’t be times when it’s inconvenient to exercise.”

Between the three new courts, students will have less reason to worry about interfering with sports teams. A schedule will be posted online detailing precisely at what times each athletic team is practicing. Even so, Péwé said he expects that one or two courts will be open most of the time for students.

“Research indicates that if there’s a group of guys or girls that wants to play pickup basketball, if they think a court is available and they show up, it’s usually not available,” Brubacher said. If they do that, after something like three times, they’ll quit trying. That’s not what we want. We want people who want to exercise to have opportunity to do so.”

For athletes, the new court space is far less physically punishing than before.

“We found out when we pulled the old court apart that it lost all its force reduction – all its resiliency,” Brubacher said. “It was like playing on concrete and we had a lot of injuries throughout the seasons.”

“I really like the new courts,” freshman Christopher Pudenz said. “It’s really easy on your body. There’s a lot of space and the rims are nice.”

Senior Robert Geiger also expressed his delight at having a space where non-athletes can more consistently work out.

More work still needs to be done. The second level of the fitness center is missing its dance floor with three removable walls. Duct work, heating and cooling units are visible upon entering the center. Some areas are totally empty. A blank wall exists where a climbing station is supposed to be. Coach offices, locker rooms, and a smoothie bar are among other missing items.

“I think all those things are interchangeable and could be done whenever we have the money for it, but it would be more cost effective to do it all in one phase,” Péwé said. “Whatever you do in there, you can’t just kick everyone out. It has to be timed at a point when it’s going to be the least disruptive.”

Over the course of the semester, final touches will be added to the fitness center as well. Currently, $2.7 million is needed for the rest of the construction project. It’s unknown at this time when construction will resume, although Péwé said it likely won’t happen until next summer at the earliest.

“When people walk into the gym, they’re stunned and the thing I find most remarkable about that is I tell them, ‘yes it’s really nice now,’ but then I point out the changes that will occur with continued renovations,” Brubacher said. “We’re really just scratching the surface.”