Rec Sports completes locker room renovations

Renovations to the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center’s locker rooms were recently completed — all part of ongoing renovations to the 82-year-old center.

The sum of the changes, which cost $850,000 and were completed in August, include new lockers, new restroom fixtures and direct access to the pool. The construction has also divided the locker room to make space for a women’s locker room closer to the exercise facilities.

Creating a women’s locker room has been a part of Recreational Sports’ plan for the center since the organization took responsibility for it three years ago, said Associate Director of Recreational Sports Jacqueline Puterbaugh.

“The women’s locker room had been converted into an IT suite, so the women didn’t have a locker room upstairs where the main activity space is,” Puterbaugh said.

She added that a big part of the renovations was dividing the men’s locker room into a men’s and women’s locker room,

These latest changes were needed to repair and replace many of the features that were originally added in the 1960s renovation of the locker rooms.

Puterbaugh said the rooms had been allowed to age through the years — for example, the sauna in the men’s general locker room disintegrated when the contractor attempted to remove it.

Senior Morgan Williams said she was happy the changes were made, despite having to use alternative facilities during the renovation process.

“All the people I know were pretty excited about the renovations,” Williams said. “I think that the finished product is great. I am really happy with them.”

Other renovations also took place in the building. The martial arts area — room 095 — received upgrades that cost a total of $30,000. There is also a plan to refurbish Wildermuth’s roof, which will cost $1.2 million.

“We are really committed to taking care of these facilities, and we want students to be proud of them, and we want them to be functional so the students can really enjoy them,” Puterbaugh said. “We are really fortunate to have a really active student population, and we are thankful that they have committed funds and supported us.”

— Nathan Miller