Kevin Balkin, a freshman accounting major, and his roommate James Johnson, a freshman finance major, have several squash racquets which will begin collecting dust in their dorm room in Loughlen Hall for the remainder of this semester. These two avid squash players, and students like them who enjoy squash and racquetball, will find themselves without racquetball courts for the remainder of this semester.
Rob DeFazio, director of the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership and Richter Recreation Center, sent out a message on Monday’s Notice Board letting the St. Bonaventure University community know that the racquetball courts inside the Richter Center will “remain closed from all activity until further notice.”
Neither Johnson nor Balkin saw that message on Monday’s Notice Board. “I don’t think anyone really knew about it, because my friends and I play there all the time and none of us knew about it, so I think they could have done a little better of a job of letting everyone know the courts are closed,” said Balkin.
There are also signs on the doors of the two racquetball courts, which say, “Do not use.” The courts are taped off so that students do not enter.
DeFazio said that the courts are unsafe for students to play on, so the Richter Center staff made the choice to close the courts for the remainder of the semester. DeFazio said that the contactors who were hired to work on the courts needed adequate time to complete their work on the courts. “We aren’t looking for a six-month fix. We are looking for a 20 to 30-year fix,” said DeFazio.
DeFazio said the racquetball courts have been available for student use since the Richter Center opened in September of 2004. Since the courts opened, “There hasn’t needed to be any renovation,” said DeFazio. “What we do is regular upkeep, so resealing of the floors as needed—every year to two years.”
At this point, though, it’s time for the racquetball courts to undergo some serious renovations.
DeFazio said that over the course of this academic year, the courts have deteriorated. He said the catalyst for this issue was this past summer’s temperatures and humidity.
“Last summer was a very uncharacteristically humid summer, and moisture and wood don’t mix well together, so we started to see some movement in the floor, where it started to buckle a little bit,” said DeFazio.
DeFazio said that there are also issues with the wall paneling on the two courts. Some of the panels, which are held together by liquid nails, have begun to come loose or fall off.
Because of the state of the courts, DeFazio said he determined that both of the courts would need to remain closed until contractors could renovate them. He said that renovating the courts will cost between $30,000 and $35,000 collectively. “That includes the tear out, the installation of the new courts, the material and the finish,” said DeFazio.
DeFazio said that the money for the renovations will come from money that is set aside each year to upgrade the Richter Center and make any renovations to it when something goes wrong. “We never want something like this to happen, but luckily we had money set aside so that if something like this did happen, we could fix it,” said DeFazio.
Balkin said the racquetball courts were a good place to socialize and do something fun with friends. “It’s pretty upsetting to see them closed because we played there all the time,” he said.
Johnson echoed Balkin’s concerns. “Me and my buddies typically go there after a long day of classes and let some steam out on the racquetball courts,” said Johnson. “I think it’s horrible that they’re closed.”
Both Johnson and Balkin said they’re excited to play on the newly-renovated courts next semester. Balkin said he hoped that one of the two courts could be dedicated solely to squash, while the other could be dedicated to racquetball.
DeFazio said he’s excited for students to play on the courts again. He said that, of course, the courts will continue to maintain their primary use as racquetball and squash courts. However, he also indicated interest in adding “walley-ball” to the list of activities sanctioned for the courts. DeFazio said that walley-ball is a game similar to volleyball, within the confines of a racquetball court.
In the meantime, though, Johnson and Balkin said they’ll spend a lot of time playing Spike Ball, a game that resembles volleyball but requires participants to bounce the ball off a net instead of hitting it over the net. For now, their squash racquets will continue collecting dust.
By Meghan Hall, News Assignment Editor
hallml18@bonaventure.edu
