The $2.1 million renovations will make improvements to the gym and the 60 year old locker rooms. Photo by Jessica Christian / Xpress

The SF State gymnasium and its locker rooms will undergo a $2.1 million renovation starting at the end of the Spring 2014 semester.

The extreme makeover, which includes improvements to the locker rooms, a new floor for the main gym and a new unisex bathroom, will be funded with University money.

“Students complain constantly,” said women’s locker room attendant Christine Hintermann. “They’re expecting shiny and brand new.”

The locker rooms will get new floors to replace the dented and cracked concrete ones they currently have and the 60-year-old lockers will be replaced with new full-length ones, according to Hintermann.

Campus planner Wendy Bloom said that the locker rooms will also get three new showers that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the women’s locker room will get new laundry facilities.

New team rooms will be added to the locker room area, giving sports teams a place to meet during game breaks. Teams now have no place to meet other than the hallway, according to Hintermann.

The other major change will be a new floor for the main gym. The flooring will be refinished for the first time in its 63-year history. After decades of use, the main gym floor has worn down and become thinner, which could pose a safety hazard, according to Bloom. Bloom also said that the bleachers will be refurbished to be accessible for people with disabilities, making them ADA-compliant.

Many students who use the gym agree that the facilities need a makeover.

“This is a spot for us to be at school and be active,” said David Leon, a business and marketing major who plays basketball recreationally and is a referee for an intramural basketball team. “Other CSUs have better facilities. This (renovation) couldn’t come soon enough.”

Not all students who use the gym are happy with the use of the funds.

“The floor looks fine to me,” said theater arts major Enrique Ochoa. “The money should go more toward the educational aspect (of the school).” Ochoa added that he thinks increased tutoring and counseling services would be a better use of the money.

The current gymnasium was constructed in 1951 and is one of the oldest buildings on campus. Several features, such as the lockers, have been in use for over 60 years. The outside structure, however, will not be renovated.

“It kind of sucks that it’s coming out of our pockets,” said Brendon Kerr, a kinesiology major and student manager for the basketball team. “But if it’s about our safety, then it’s worth it.”

Kerr said that the changes will also give the gym facilities a more modern look. “It brings a new look to the university,” he said.

“It’s great what they’re doing,” said history major Tiana Wills, who is on the women’s track team. Wills added that she greatly appreciates President Leslie E. Wong’s goal to focus more on sports at SF State.

The gym and locker room renovation will begin at the end of the spring semester and is expected to end before the start of the Fall 2014 semester.