MSU Seniors Frustrated by Rec Center Delays

(Springfield, MO) -- College students are packing up and heading home for the summer, but some seniors graduating from Missouri State University are going to miss out on a big perk.

The FosterRecreationCenter is set to open this summer, in time for the beginning of fall 2012 classes.

Graduates leaving the Springfield area won't have a chance to enjoy it, even though students have been paying into the 100,000 square-foot facility since 2007.

It was supposed to be complete last fall but construction delays and financing kept pushing it back.

"I would really like to use it and because of the delays I should have been able to use it for like a year now," says graduate student Ellen Hermann. "But I guess two semesters will be great, but I really wish I could have been able to use it for longer. But I mean, I don't know how else they would have done it."

"They keep moving the date back," says junior Jordan Gallant. "First it was November. Then it was February. Then it was April. It was like, 'Man!' Then they just stopped giving us dates and now it's like a guessing game, you know?"

The grand opening is set to take place during the first week of classes this fall. Students will be charged $80 per semester to use the facility.

Previous Report: Nearly Completed Rec Center Will Employ 150 MSU Students

In addition to treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes, the new facility will include a climbing wall, pool, zipline, running track, basketball courts, group fitness classes, and more.

MSU staff say they plan on hiring more than 150 students to help run the rec center.