MC’s Athletic Facilities Look Ahead

By Pablo Kay

Ask almost any Manhattan College student about the state of his or her school’s athletic facilities, and the response is not likely to be a flattering one. As a Division I school, MC dedicates hundreds of thousands of dollars to sports programs but its main athletic facility, the multi-use Draddy Gymnasium, is usually criticized more often than it is praised, particularly for the state of its fitness center and recreational facilities.

However, according to Athletic Director Robert Byrnes, a few short-term changes are in the works. A new wooden court intended for basketball and volleyball teams is being built in Draddy, which will give an opportunity for up to three intramural teams to practice at the same time. Four new flat screen TVs are being installed in the much-maligned “fitness center” to replace the antique tubes whose fuzzy picture and sound quality is known to frustrate treadmill users trying to watch shows like SportsCenter and The Price Is Right.

As for the long-term, it turns out that significant changes could one day be on the way for the gym MC students have come to know in recent years. In the coming weeks, said Byrnes, Draddy will be evaluated by an outside architect for recommendations on possible enhancements that would provide more locker room space and make use of “underutilized” space on the gym’s second floor.

Such an evaluation would be “a start in making a master plan for improvements at Draddy” said the athletic director, who cautioned that long-term plans have yet to be developed. Spatial factors such as the parking lot north of Draddy, the main campus area to the south and Alumni Hall to the west would make an actual expansion of the gym area on MC’s landlocked campus complicated.

As for Draddy’s fitness center, commonly known among students as the “weight room” (not to be confused with the nearby varsity weight room for athletes), it is frequently criticized for being too small in space, lacking workout equipment and having outdated machines. 

“Every time you go in there, a machine is broken,” said Glenis Forbes, who works out at the fitness center every day and has studied on and off at MC for the last nine years. “We need more space and more machines, especially bikes and ellipticals.”

“Our students deserve a better free weight room area for everyone [athletes and students]. It’s a great recreational plus. Any change is an enhancement for students,” said Byrnes, suggesting that the possibility of a bigger, better weight room was being looked at as the athletic department prepares for Draddy’s evaluation. When asked about a possible timeline, Byrnes said that he is aware students want to see results. “Talk is cheap…action is what matters,” he said.

When Draddy was designed and built more than thirty years ago, there actually was no fitness center included in the original plan. According to Byrnes, today’s weight room was originally designated as a food catering area for the gym.

While a new Draddy fitness center remains just a possibility for now, Manhattan College’s planned Student Commons area is in fact expected to house fitness facilities. The director of Student Development, Elaine White, said that her department is “committed to having a fitness center in the Commons” that will eventually be built on the site of the Waldo parking lot. Yet the multipurpose building faces challenges similar to Draddy’s: the Commons is expected to cost upwards of 30 million dollars and is still trying to meet fundraising goals.