With an anticipated record incoming class — which is estimated at 4,654 —now settled at Iowa State, renovations of State Gym press on, causing a potential strain for Recreation Services.

The $52.8 million project, which includes renovations to Lied Recreation Athletic Center and Beyer Hall, along with State Gym — and a 94,000-gross square-foot addition to it — was delayed when the contractor was unable to obtain enough coil zinc materials to complete construction.

State Gym, which was built in 1913, was set to re-open in October after more than two years of work. However, the re-opening has now been pushed back to spring 2012.

Due to the delay, the university has made the decision to recommend to the Board of Regents an $89.95 credit for full-time students, a prorated credit for part-time students and a credit for students who were charged this past summer.

Vice President of Business and Finance Warren Madden doesn’t believe the plan will be a problem when proposed Sept. 22 and feels it’s the right thing to do since students can’t use the facility.

“Students have financial challenges and we’re sensitive to that,” Madden said.

While a refund will likely make the wait easier for students, it could cause some hectic times for Rec Services, which has been anticipating the State Gym renovation to solve previously existing space concerns.

“Obviously with the addition and expansion of State Gym, we are already in a space problem,” said Michael Giles, director of Recreation Services. “That’s what State Gym is doing for us; it’s enabling us to expand our programs and our services and our facilities to meet the needs of the student body.”

A student body that continues to grow adds yet one more challenge.

“We do expect to see a greater demand on our programs and a greater demand on our current existing facilities, Lied and Beyer and our outdoor fields,” Giles said. “But it’s also a challenge for us to take what we currently offer and expand that out, even with some of the limited resources we may have at the moment due to State Gym not being ready yet.”

The previously expected re-opening of State Gym this semester had given the intramurals department hopes to return intramural sports back to its previous home on the west side of campus.

“We wanted to go back to where Lied would be an open rec facility and [State Gym] would be more for intramurals,” said Russ Jones, assistant director of intramurals.

Those plans will be put on hold while Rec Services will instead focus its attention toward reaching a growing student body and making sure there is room to participate for all who are interested.

“Our numbers are going to grow — number of teams, number of participants,” Jones said. “It might create some challenges from field space to court space depending on what sport we’re talking about, but those are challenges we’re excited about.”

Meanwhile, Giles is excited about the new choices students will have when State Gym finally does open its doors.

“Our students at Eaton Hall and Martin won’t have to try to make that decision, ‘Do I want to walk across campus? Do I want to get on the bus to go all the way across campus to Lied?'” Giles said. “They’ll be able to step right outside their door and walk right into State Gym.”

Just as soon as construction is complete.