Work to start on Reed Gym

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ntee@journalnet.com

POCATELLO -- Idaho State University will break ground next week on the long-awaited $6.3 million expansion to the Student Recreation Center at Reed Gym.

The ceremony, which will be at 10 a.m. on Nov. 20, will include remarks by ISU President Arthur Vailas, Student Body President Matt Spencer and others. It will be the culmination of an effort that began in 2003.

"It's kind of relieving that we're getting started," said Doug Milder, director of campus recreation.

The two-level expansion will feature a fitness center with weights and cardiovascular equipment, multipurpose rooms, lounges and the center's administrative offices. It will be funded entirely with student fees the university began collecting in 2003.

Plans for the expansion were mired in controversy for about four years. During two separate campuswide elections, the student body rejected more expensive versions of the project, one of which would have included an Olympic-size swimming pool. That addition would have cost $22 million.

During construction, the tennis courts and track will likely be closed and will be blocked off by temporary walls.

Parking for athletic events could also be an issue.

Jeff Tingey, ISU interim athletic director, said there were enough parking spaces at the two pre-season men's basketball games, but Friday's season opener against Eastern Oregon could be another story. However, Tingey doesn't anticipate any major problems.

The worst parking issues could surface next spring during the last two games of the men's basketball season, both at Reed Gym.

"They will be in the middle of construction," Tingey said. "But we will make adjustments, even if it means shuttling people from the Holt Arena parking lot."

The history of the Student Recreation Center began in 1951 with the completion of Reed Gym. At a cost of $1 million, it was reputed to be the most expensive college gymnasium in the United States at the time.

The first addition, which included indoor tennis and racquetball courts, was completed in 1978. In the late 1990s, indoor basketball courts and a climbing wall were built.

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