The Penn State Board of Trustees recently approved proposals for the expansion of one on-campus fitness facility and the purchase of two off-campus properties.

The Rec Hall renovations will provide additional room and facilities for the varsity wrestling team and construct a public recreation and fitness area near the Lot Red H.

Associate Athletic Director Herb Schmidt said "pieces" of the plan for expansion have been in the works for years. The wrestling team has requested that facilities be updated to allow them to compete at the national level.

Schmidt also said student interest in fitness has grown over the past few years, especially after the White Building's addition of the MBNA fitness center. He said the university wanted to create a similar center on the west side of campus.

Construction will be completed most likely by fall 2005, Schmidt said.

Students who exercise at Rec Hall expressed their reactions to the plans for expansion. "It's a good idea," Ed Ting (junior-hotel restaurant institutional management) said.

Ting, who says he works out at Rec Hall "all the time," also suggested new features he thinks should be added.

"They should add a cardio room with tread mills and bicycles. They should put more basketball courts and places to play volleyball," he said.

Caitlin Veverka (junior-public relations) agrees the expansion is needed.

"The lines at the White Building are really long," she said, citing Rec Hall as an alternative place to exercise.

However, Andy Masson (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies), said after recently transferring to Penn State from St. John's University in New York, he is impressed with Rec Hall's size and facilities.

However, he does not object to renovating the building. "There is always room for improvement," he said.

The university also plans to purchase two new properties found in nearby areas, one located at 900 E. College Ave. in College Township, and the other located along Charter Oak Road (Route 1029) at the entrance to the Stone Valley Recreation Area and Experimental Forest.

Although the areas will be purchased in the coming months, the university has not released any specific plans for development.

Each purchase measures less than one acre, 0.4 acres in College Township and 0.753 acres in Stone Valley. The area in Stone Valley will cost the university $148,000, while the land in College Township will cost $5,000.