It’s no downtown country club, it’s not exclusive and it doesn’t have a climbing wall, but NIU’s Recreational Facility is trying to give students a place to work out in style. However, expensive equipment and an out-of-date facility are two problems facing facilitators as they try to keep up with student demand, new technology and modern design.

The Rec Center has been receiving and installing new equipment over the past few weeks and has had $100,000 allocated to it by the Student Association to buy more new equipment. Despite this monetary increase, the Rec Center’s list of needs exceeds that amount as it tries to meet student opinions and suggestions for ways to improve the facility.

“The needs list we have is much longer than $100,000, partly because of the things students say they need through the feedback we get, surveys we take and the comment cards students fill out,” said Sandi Carlisle, director of Recreational Services.

The Rec Center has over 100,000 square feet of play and workout space that includes numerous equipment and multi-purpose courts, but the facility still fails to meet the “state-of-the-art” benchmark.

“In terms of the building, we do not have a state-of-the-art facility,” said Chrissy Tluczek, coordinater of open recreation, summer camps and recreation services. “The layout we have here is a 1980s design. Most rec centers now are not one-story. We get calls from people who are right next to the Rec Center and don’t recognize it because it doesn’t look like a rec center; it looks more like a blob. We would like to have a more open-air facility, a better welcome desk and study lounges.”

Eric Appiah, assistant director of fitness and wellness, said the new equipment is state-of-the-art quality.

“We are working towards making the building into a state-of-the-art facility, but the equipment we have is getting there,” Appiah said. “While I would say space is one thing I would like to have more of, the basic equipment is there. We have versatile, functional equipment that caters to a wide range of athletes.”

The Rec Center installed new cardio equipment that comes with mounted cable-ready TVs, iPod jacks, flash drives and virtual trainers. The equipment also features the Tune Your Run Nike application, which allows users to track their progress on the machine itself. New weight machines were also installed, one of which is called the “jungle gym” machine. A new outdoor recreational facility is on schedule for Fall 2012.

“We look at every comment card we receive and try our best to accommodate…the student’s wishes for equipment,” Tluczek said. “We keep inventory and track the use of every machine being used so we know what equipment is the most popular, what gets used the most and which equipment we should buy more of to keep up-to-date. We do well with what we have. We definitely try to make every dollar count.”