Student Senate NPAC Committee addresses weight room overcrowding

No clear solution is in sight after Student Senate’s NPAC Committee addressed overcrowding in the weight and cardio room located in the Nelson Physical Activity Center in a meeting with staff held at 10 a.m. Sep. 27.
Jeff Turman, manager of the sports and recreation center, addressed the committee’s questions in the meeting and responded in an email with solutions. Below are the statements sent in the email.
Why can’t the racquetball courts be used in an expansion of the weight / cardio room even though those spaces don’t seem to get as much use as the weight / cardio room?
“We use to have five racquetball courts and two were given up to expand the weight room which is now the cardio room. The courts are used almost weekly by Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) throughout the semester for several different classes. With the reduction of courts, all courts are used simultaneously for a class. The courts are also used by students/faculty/staff and the general public who play racquetball as a recreational activity. A change in curriculum and/or activities will be at the discretion of the HPER department and will not be diminished when the NPAC’s priority is first to the students of HPER.”
What other avenues may be looked into for getting relief from the overcrowding in the weight / cardio room?
“As we discussed there just is nowhere to go with how the building is built. We are already short on classrooms and storage areas. The NPAC is not very high up on the priority list to be renovated, this is something that is truly not in our control. One possible renovation would be to make the current cardio area a two-story room. This would almost double the size of the space currently designated for cardio and could help. We can explore putting this option on the Institutional Project List, which will include gathering bids, accessing the need for contracted work, and identifying the project timeline to assess when the best time would be to close the facility for a project if approved for implementation.”
What portion of the NPAC’s operating budget comes from the student activity fees?
“The Student Fees budget is more used in the purchase of equipment for the facility. It is used for equipment in the weight/cardio room and for equipment/prizes used in intramurals. It is also used for upkeep on equipment in the NPAC and dorms.”
Would you be able to provide documentation of the original priorities of the NPAC?
“Per policies the priority of the NPAC facility is as follows: CSC Academic classes, CSC Varsity athletics, CSC Intramurals. This more comes into use when scheduling of the arena and classrooms for academics and other events held in the NPAC. Academics are always our priority across campus.”
Turman also stated that the NPAC is not as busy between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.