IM sports buildings to undergo upgrades

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Tweet Campus fitness buffs soon will see updated exercise equipment as MSU administrators have provided funding to upgrade the intramural sports facilities.

According to an April 4 memo sent to university officials, the Intramural Facilities Endowment will initially provide $626,000 for equipment and facility maintenance, equipment replacement and facility improvements. The MSU Board of Trustees approved the funding at its April 13 meeting.

Some projects that will be covered by the endowment include:

• Improving lighting in IM Sports-East and Demonstration Hall

• Painting the gyms in IM Sports-West

• Replacing the wooden ramp at Demonstration Hall with something more permanent

Kathy Lindahl, assistant vice president for finance and operations, said students created a list for university officials to pinpoint where money needs to be spent during the upgrading process.

"What we're trying to do is build an endowment, like a savings account, to chip away at the different things we're going to do," she said. "We need to do something to give us a steady stream of funding, that was really the intent of it."

Each year, more than $300,000 will be added to the endowment.

"Next year, it will be $900,000 plus," Lindahl said. "In a matter of five years, there will be a significant amount of income — money we can spend to address these projects — so they don't accumulate at a great rate.

"It's a way of looking at funding challenges an institution has and trying to address those and free some funds that will enhance the intramural facilities."

The last major construction project at an on-campus fitness facility was in 2005, with the addition of a new fitness and exercise area, including a weight room, at IM Sports-West.

Music therapy junior Sara Buccilli said when she lived on campus, she wouldn't go to IM Sports-Circle because of the outdated fitness equipment. She also wouldn't exercise at IM Sports-West because the fitness facility project was still under construction.

"If I wanted to work out, I'd just run on campus because the facilities weren't good," she said.

Increasing funding to enhance the intramural sports facilities on campus is a good idea, Buccilli said.

"I'm all about fitness," she said. "I'd probably go more often if there was new equipment."

Kristi Jourdan can be reached at jourdank@msu.edu.

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