Athletic Department anticipates The Jay Walk

Posted on | September 3, 2008 | No Comments

At Elizabethtown College the convenience of being able to walk back and forth between the Brossman Commons and Thompson Gymnasium through a simple, air-conditioned hallway no longer exists. The hallway was removed during the summer as part of the college’s newest construction project, The Jay Walk.

The Jay Walk will be a walkway connecting the front of Thompson Gymnasium to the midway in front of the new Masters Center. The addition to the gymnasium will include new offices for coaches, a hall of fame display, classrooms, and space for recruit meetings. It will also reunite the Brossman Commons with Thompson gym.

“The Jaywalk will reconnect the hallway, hopefully by winter time to keep everyone indoors,” Athletic Trainer Mike Sweger said.

The college received $1 million grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to help fund the project as well as renovate the school pool. A sign thanking Governor Rendell hangs in front of the construction sight.

The improvement on the athletic department was scheduled to be finished by January 2008. Coaches were moved out of their offices in Thompson and moved to replacement offices in May 2007. However, construction did not even begin until May of 2008. For over a year athletic coaches have been spread across campus, from the library to Alpha Hall to the Brossman Commons.

“I’ll just be glad to not have to walk a mile to make copies anymore,” said Baseball Coach Cliff Smith, whose current office is in the school’s equipment room.

When construction did start, the initial goal was for The Jay Walk to be complete by the start of the 2008 school year. Due to weather and other circumstances, work was delayed and is now said to be done by January 2009.

Head Men’s Basketball Coach Bob Schlosser is hoping coaches can move into their new offices during the winter break, “It’s going to be great when it is finished…for now it is a temporary inconvenience for a permanent improvement”.

Students and faculty will just have to walk outside around the construction for a few more months before they can access everything The Jay Walk will have to offer. More connections, space, and coach availability should make for big improvements in the college’s athletic department.

-Megan Angstadt, Elizabethtown College senior

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