U. confronts future of campus recreating facilities

Report: Build new Gimbel, facility on campus' east side The University needs an additional 225,000 square feet of recreation space just to be adequate for an institution of its caliber, according to a long-anticipated report by an independent consulting firm. Washington, D.C.-based Brailsford & Dunlavey's report, released yesterday, recommends demolishing and rebuilding Gimbel Gymnasium on the west side of campus -- doubling its size to 175,000 square feet -- and tearing down either or both the Levy Tennis Pavilion and Class of 1923 Ice Rink to make way for a new indoor track and an "east building" housing team-oriented activities. The recommendations stemmed from a 1 1/2 year study in which the firm used focus groups and e-mail surveys to solicit student, faculty and staff input on Penn's current recreation facilities and prospects for the future. While officials said they agreed with the report's conceptual findings, they stressed that the recommendations were not intended to address economic or structural feasibility. "They are not engineers, they are marketing consultants," University President Judith Rodin said, adding that the University hired its own engineers to provide estimates on the proposed "east" building, which totaled $45 million --$27 million more than the firm's figure. The complete project, including both west and east end development, could total between $80 million and $100 million, according to Executive Vice President John Fry. And Rodin said the report represents "long-term" goals to be evaluated in the coming months. The firm suggested a two-phase overhaul of Gimbel, which, when completed, would include a weight and fitness training area, elevated running track, eight racquetball courts, a sport climbing wall and a 50-meter-by-25-yard competitive pool with an adjacent recreation pool. The first phase would consist of demolishing the gallery, offices and locker rooms on the west side of the building, allowing Sheerr Pool and the gymnasium to remain open while the west half is reconstructed. After completing the west half, the remaining part would be demolished and replaced. While Gimbel would host individualized activities and their support spaces, intramural and club sports teams would practice in the new east site. This "fieldhouse-type" building would include three-court and four-court gymnasiums which could be built on the existing ice rink site. In justifying the demolition of the 28-year-old ice rink, the firm noted that "there is not enough recreation demand, or a varsity hockey program, to warrant its continued operating expense." The firm further recommended the construction of an indoor track structure on the Levy site, as long as it proved to be cost-effective. In explaining location choices and a split-site strategy, the firm said location was key. The Gimbel site, with its close proximity to the bulk of Penn's student housing, offices and classrooms, is particularly suited to individualized activities, whereas the east building site would utilize the surrounding outdoor fields for team sports. In dealing with the east end project, however, Rodin made it clear that tearing down a building rather than starting from scratch would be extremely costly. The University has long had its eye on the 14-acre lot next to Levy Pavilion, currently owned by the U.S. Postal Service, Rodin noted. "We still believe that if all the stars are aligned in the right way at some point, that maybe it could happen," she said. Rodin declined to comment as to the status of negotiations with the Postal Service. A successful outcome would move the University one step closer toward achieving its overall Campus Master Plan. Announced in November 1996, the plan aims to push campus boundaries farther east and south toward the Schuylkill River. Participants in the firm's focus groups and surveys complained that space was limited for the the most popular activities on campus, including weight and fitness conditioning, indoor jogging and aerobics, according to the report. The study also reached the consensus that the Hutchinson Gymnasium fitness center is severely inadequate and too far from campus residences. Respondents said they would be willing to pay up to $200 a semester for high-tech facilities close to home. The report suggested that user fees would subsidize a portion of the total project costs for the proposed facility, which they estimated will carry a price tag of about $60 million. Bond issues and loans would fund the remainder. But Rodin was quick to highlight the firm's inadequacies in assessing funding and facilities needs, calling its estimates "inaccurate." Administrators will delay planning for the east end of campus, since they are currently focusing on immediate renovations to Gimbel Gymnasium, according to University spokesperson Ken Wildes. The $1.2 million project -- to be completed by the end of the summer -- will transform the west half of Gimbel into a fitness center complete with aerobics, isolation and free-weight equipment. Fry categorized Gimbel as a "down payment" on a future multi-million-dollar, state-of-the art facility. He declined to provide a timetable. In order to use the new fitness center, students, faculty and staff will have to pay the same $125 per year fee that currently grants access to Hutch's workout room. The fee will grant access to both facilities. While the lower fee represents a departure from the firm's recommendations, Rodin said the project was "sorely needed by the community," and "means nothing about any decisions" as to the future implementation of the report. Although the University has hired firms to compile recreation reports as far back as 1973, Athletic Director Steve Bilsky expressed confidence this time around. "Now, for the first time, not only do we have a good conceptual plan, but it's already started [with Gimbel]," he said. Rodin added that "[the University doesn't] commission reports we're not going to use."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.