Because of budget concerns, officials said, the Recreation Building has been closed to the public until Nov. 1.

Harry Ostrander, the director of Recreational Services, said the decision was necessary because of the low numbers the facility was attracting.

The building, located near Kinnick Stadium, offers a 200-meter indoor track, an in-field area that may be reserved, and some weight facilities. But, because of the nice weather, people are staying outside — which affects the facility’s numbers, Ostrander said.

Every day that the building stays open, the university loses money. Ostrander estimated that Recreational Services loses $50,000 annually keeping the building open.

“The Recreation Building is really a misnamed building in my opinion, because it’s really not our main recreation facility — the Field House is,” Ostrander said. “About the only recreational use is for joggers … so all of our revenue has been affected. It’s strictly a manner of cost.”

Iowa’s track and cross-country teams will continue to use the facility.

Revenue was better when both the public and the Iowa men’s and women’s tennis squads trained in the building — it once housed five indoor tennis courts. But when the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex was completed, the teams no longer used the facility, and one of Recreational Services’ main revenue streams ended.

Ostrander said because of a decline in student use, the building can’t stay open year round.

“Recreational Services receives no funding to operate that building,” he said. “We don’t have enough revenue being collected to pay for the part-time student because all the hours that we are open.”

Closing the building has affected many students employed at the Recreation Building. Ray Beemer, an associate director of Recreational Services who is in charge of the facility, said the department has tried its best to accommodate the employees who work there.

“Hopefully, I’m able to get those employees all back — at least some of them back in November,” he said. “We tried to place some of them in other facilities.”

Talks are ongoing about converting the building to serve alternate purposes. The track and cross-country teams use the facilities when weather is poor; therefore, the building can’t be renovated. If the track team had another indoor facility to use, Ostrander said, he could make significant changes in order to boost revenue.

“If I didn’t have track in there … for instance, I could turf that whole building and rent to a lot of soccer and youth groups,” Ostrander said. “I could have our club teams use it more. We are a little handicapped because of the track teams.”

But the closing of the facility to the public for the next two months may have an upside for the track and cross-country teams. When the teams have free rein in the building, they can set up their equipment throughout the entire complex — enabling the squads to give a more in-depth tour of the facilities for recruits.

Layne Anderson, the women’s track and cross-country coach, said that the closing does not have a negative effect on the program — rather, it will positively bolster the recruiting season.

“We are hoping we can use this to our advantage to set up some things and showcase the facility,” he said. “When we have recruits in, that’s one of the facilities we show them.”