To the average fan at a UB basketball game, the south side bleachers -- Alumni Arena's student section -- appear to be in perfect working order.
However, years of wear and tear have deteriorated the retractable bleachers to the point that they can no longer retract into the wall.
Stuck in the out position, the bleachers cover Alumni Arena's indoor track, preventing the track and field team from practicing there during the winter season.
"These were the original bleachers that were built back in '82," said Paul Vecchio, the assistant athletic director for communications. "It's like a car that's done as much as it can. You can put more gas and oil into it, but it may just have to be replaced."
According to Vecchio, the gears in the bleachers are beyond repair.
"We became aware of the problem last winter, and haven't retracted them this season for safety reasons," he said.
Vecchio said the repair will cost $1 million. The Division of Athletics and University Facilities will collaborate on the project, which he said will be completed by March 15.
According to Victoria A. Mitchell, coach of women's track and field, there are plenty of alternatives for the team.
"Until snow fell last week, we've been practicing outside the main arena," she said. "Treadmills are used for the distance athletes and long jumpers use the triple gym."
According to Vecchio, athletics administrators have done what they can to make the process easier for the team.
Every afternoon, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., Alumni Arena's recreational jogging track is closed to students so the track team can practice there.
"We've had very good cooperation from the administration," Mitchell said.
However, some track and field athletes said the replacement of the bleachers could not come soon enough.
Megan Housel, a distance runner on the indoor track team and sophomore biomedical sciences major, said the recreational jogging track is difficult to use and unsafe for hard training.
"It is a slight inconvenience for the entire indoor track team," Housel said. "It's hard because they move us from the gym, which is a measured 200 meters, to the upstairs track. Upstairs is an irregular distance so we had to put up markers all over the place."
John Flor, a middle-distance runner and junior mathematics major, agreed that the track's closure is a problem.
"We don't have any good training facilities in the winter," he said. "We're forced to run upstairs with joggers in cramped conditions. If we wanted to bring any recruits in to show them our facilities, we wouldn't have anything to show them."
Housel said it also inconveniences other gym users who can't run on the upstairs track while the team closes it off every day.
According to Housel, the upstairs track is not conducive to healthy repetitive running -- and the team cannot afford many more injuries.
"Any running on a hard surface tends to cause injury," she said. "It's carpeted concrete upstairs - that kind of insistent pounding causes shin splints, ankle problems and joint pain. Our injury list is up to 10 or 12 already."
According to Housel, the track and field coaches are trying to find indoor tracks at athletic clubs and schools such as Fredonia and Buffalo State College where the team can practice. She said the team could have used the assistance of the athletic department in securing these spots.
"They could have helped out a little bit with this process instead of just saying 'You can't use the gym,'" she said. "Nothing compares to an indoor surface, which the school doesn't offer, but the gym surface is better than our other options."
Mitchell, the team's coach, says the adversity presented by the track's closure will make the team tougher.
"I don't look it as a hindrance," Mitchell said. "Ultimately, it makes us stronger."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
