Renovations to the Richie Regan Athletic Center are progressing and according to the Vice President of Administration Dennis Garbini and Associate Vice President of Facilities John Signorello, the first stage of the renovations will be completed sometime this spring.
Garbini and Signorello said there are two parts to the renovations, the first being on the training room and dance studio.
"The training room is currently being done, and will be done in the spring," Signorello said.
The main change that is being noticed by students is the fact that the men's locker room and the dance studio are closed.
Senior Rutesha Patel said she wishes the dance studio was open because right now she has to practice in the racquetball room.
"There's not enough space in the racquetball room," Patel said.
Freshman Zach Keller said he does not mind the men's locker room being closed too much. He said all he has to do is put a "hoodie in the cubby" so he really does not have a need for a locker room.
Besides, Keller added that the "workers are right next to it (the cubby)," so he does not worry that his belongings will get stolen.
"The major disruption is the dance studio, and the training and conditioning for athletes," Garbini said.
Patel said she wished renovations were done over the summer. Garbini and Signorello said some of them will be.
They said the Field House will undergo renovation over the summer; including resurfacing the floor. The track will remain the same, though.
According to Signorello and Garbini, the weight room will be a part of the new arc space, which faces out over campus in the front of the building, as the plans are currently laid out right now. However, the plans for the exact set-up will probably change before the final version is settled on.
Garbini acknowledged that it may be a little weird to have the weight room open for everyone to see, but students said they did not really have a problem with it.
Junior Liam Orr said people will be aware that they can be seen, and offers some advice to those who do not wish to be seen: "Go at a time when most people won't be walking by."
Keller added he is sure there will be other parts of the gym that will not be visible to campus, for people who would not want to be seen.
"They (Seton Hall) want to show off the weight room, I'm sure," Keller said.
Garbini and Signorello added that when the renovations are completed, the amount of workout equipment, from weights to weight machines, will be doubled and a lobby area will be created.
Garbini and Signorello said the renovations that are taking place now are just the beginning for what is to come.
According to the two, renovations will continue over the summer and the final product will be ready by next year.
Lindsay Rittenhouse can be reached at lindsay.rittenhouse@student.shu.edu.
