At least two downtown gyms are considering initiating litigation against Penn State because of university plans to use more space than originally planned for exercise equipment in the White Building.

"We are trying to compete in an unfair market," Denny Lingenfelter, manager of Bodyworks Gym, 127 Sowers St., said.

Although he was told by lawyers to be "tight-lipped" about the controversy over the White Building, Lingenfelter said there could be litigation pending against the university.

Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley said he was unaware of the planned litigation and said he could not comment on the situation until he knew more about it.

Bill Asbury, vice president of student affairs, said although the university is looking into using more of the space in the White Building for fitness equipment because of increased student demand, administrators had not yet reached a final decision on the matter.

"We're going to take a look at the demand at the end of the semester," Asbury said.

The White Building has 15,000 square feet of usable space, but because of previous pressure from downtown gyms, it is using only one-third of that space for exercise equipment.

While Penn State wants to work "in a cooperative way" with downtown gyms, it has to meet the needs of the students, Asbury said.

"We need to assess how to respond to the demand," he said.

Asbury said since the White Building opened, there has been a 75 to 80 percent increase in usage of campus fitness facilities.

"It's quite clear that more students are using this space," he said.

People using the White Building are waiting longer for equipment now than they did when the building first opened and they could get aggravated at the long lines for equipment, Asbury said.

"If they're waiting for an hour for equipment then they're going to go to another place," he said.

Supervisors at the White Building have noticed the increased number of students using the facility.

"There's a lot of folks using the room," said Chip Harrison, head strength and conditioning coach.

It's the busiest room on campus and many students are running into long lines for equipment, especially during the hours between 2 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m., Harrison said.

The opening of the White Building created a new venue for students who used the fitness facilities on campus and it also made room for hundreds of additional participants, Harrison said.

"The demand of the space is exceeding what we have available," he said.

Although there are times when there are no lines, there are prime times during the day when students wait 20 to 30 minutes for use of the equipment, he said.