Recreation Services hosted an open house to unveil State Gym to the public Sunday afternoon. The crowd, a mixture of students, faculty and alumni, was invited to take a walk through the multi-million dollar recreation complex, which is set to officially open at 6 a.m. Monday.

“We’ve been working on this project since March of 2004,” said Scott White, associate director for business operations for Rec services. “We are meeting a lot of new people and we expect it to be pretty crazy when it opens.”

Officially called the “State Gym Expansion and Renovation Project,” the new complex features state-of-the-art exercise equipment throughout the building for students living on the west end of campus who do not wish to make the trip over to Lied Recreation Athletic Center.

In addition to the exercise equipment, the new State Gym also features three wood-floored, regulation-sized basketball courts; an aquatic center that includes a recreation pool, a vortex and a spa; a 40-foot rock climbing wall; a cycling room; locker facilities; a jogging track; and many other new activities.

“The pool will be great,” White said. “It will be nice to have a warm-water, shallow-depth pool. I also like the fact that the original State Gym will be preserved.”

White was referring to the old State Gym’s basketball court that was also renovated to be used by students after years of being somewhat neglected. The old State Gym building, aside from the renovated basketball courts, also includes brand new exercise equipment, a jogging track, administrative offices, an outdoor recreation program and a fitness and wellness suite.

Another convenient part of the project is a skyway, lined with elliptical machines, that connects Beyer Hall to State Gym, which will allow people to use the facilities in both buildings without having to go outside.

“I’m excited to use all of the new equipment,” said Nick Rutherford, an employee at State Gym who was on hand to answer visitors’ questions about the equipment. “The main thing is being in a new facility because Lied is getting a lot older. I would expect there to be a lot of people checking State Gym out now, especially with everyone’s New Year’s resolution to get in shape.”

Ethan Day, freshman in pre-business, is ready to begin enjoying the new facility, but is also wary of the crowd that may accompany the early weeks of the semester.

“We are going to be coming here a lot,” he said. “But I think it’s going to be crowded for a while.”

State Gym is set to open at 6 a.m. Monday and will keep the same hours as Lied.