Rec facilities to be improved

A synthetic all-weather turf and lights for the football field are part of the project.
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Grove City College will spend just over $1 million this summer to improve campus sports and recreational facilities.
President Richard G. Jewell said the significant upgrades will have an impact on the campus and a direct influence on student needs and uses.
The floor of the Intramural Room in the Physical Learning Center will be completely replaced to make it more usable for activities beyond just athletics.
The IM Room is well-used by intramural sports, club sports and varsity teams during the off season, but it serves as a venue for groups hosting dinners, dances and other functions as well. It's also used by students who want to get together with friends for activities or stay in shape using the indoor track.
Jewell said other improvements are in response to changes occurring on lower campus and to support the college's growing club and intramural sports needs.
The college will replace the grass varsity football field with next-generation, synthetic all-weather turf as well as install lights at Thorn Field.
Several benefits
"Although this will help our varsity football program," Jewell said, "we would not do it for this reason only. The benefit will be much more. The varsity team will practice primarily on the Thorn stadium turf. This will free up space on the old practice field for club sports and intramurals, and when the evening comes after football practice, we will be able to run club sports and IM programs until 10:30 p.m. or so under the lights."
The track, which will also be renovated, will be available for student use in the evenings under the lights as well, he said.