Survey will measure need for indoor track

For decades, members of the University community have been clamoring for an indoor recreation facility. And there is a some good news to report on that front. According to Athletic Director Steve Bilsky, University officials will begin surveying various users of a potential facility as early as next fall to determine which features they would like to see in a recreation building. One component that would almost certainly be included in the building would be an indoor track, which every other Ivy League university currently has. And not only does the University not have an indoor track, but the entire city of Philadelphia lacks one. Members from all parts of the University -- undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni -- will be questioned. "We're actually going to begin the process of a needs analysis," Bilsky said. "We'll talk to all the various users and get their input so that if we get fortunate enough to be moving, we'll already have all the research done then." However, two significant obstacles may block the development of a recreation facility, according to Bilsky. Because the University is a land-locked institution, space is sorely lacking, said Bilsky, who added that once that obstacle is overcome, money must be raised to pay for the construction of a facility. "The issue is, 'Where do you do it?'," Bilsky said. "And then of course once you've found where you're going to do it, where are you going to get the money from? You're not talking about a small amount of money -- you're talking about tens of millions of dollars." In addition to an indoor track, the facility would most likely also include weight rooms, gymnasiums and aerobics studios. "There's a lot of things that people on campus want to do for fitness purposes that we can't address adequately with our existing facilities," Bilsky said. Assistant women's track coach Tony Tenisci backs up Bilsky's claims, stating that such a facility would not only benefit the track and field teams, but also would be a great asset to the entire University community. "I look at it as a community thing, not just as a track coach," Tenisci said. "It would enhance the University so much." The track teams currently practice year round, according to Tenisci. But because the University lacks an indoor facility, winter practices have to be held outdoors. Even in freezing temperatures, the track athletes must run outside. "Who wouldn't come to Penn if we had an indoor facility?" Tenisci said. "We would probably be the hottest school in the country athletically." Although the possibility of a recreation facility being created on campus sometime in the future seems to be increasing, Bilsky warns that such a project takes a great deal of time. "There's no way to make this a short-term project because it by nature just won't turn," Bilsky said. "But we're thinking about it all the time."

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