Students hoping to shed a few pounds before warmer weather and shorter hemlines come may soon find an incentive to get in shape by using new campus gym equipment.

The University’s Department of Recreational Sports has started facility renovations this academic year. With a total of $1.6 million allocated for the project, the revamp includes 60 new cardio machines, television installations and the refurnishing of lobbies and locker rooms at the Intramural Sports Building, Central Campus Recreational Building and North Campus Recreational Building.

The funding came from the University’s vice president for student affairs and the provost’s office. E. Royster Harper, the University's Vice President for Student Affairs, served as commissioner of a yearlong recreational facility-planning study that will be released this month. The study will expose further areas for improvement and longer-term projects apart from those that will use the $1.6 million for Recreational Sports facilities, according to William Canning, director of Recreational Sports at the University.

All the renovations, including those that will potentially be done as a result of the upcoming study, will take approximately five to 10 years, according to Canning. The funding will potentially extend gym hours and increase programs and the number of staff members.

By replacing old equipment, Canning said the University will save money in the long term since upkeep of broken-down machines amasses substantial fees.

“The older equipment was costing us so much time, labor and money for the replacement parts of some of the old treadmills that we’ve already seen some significant savings in our expense budget because we have new equipment that are now under warranty,” Canning said.

Equipment replacements and locker room overhauls are already underway, and the department is currently in the process of installing cable television in some cardio rooms at each gym, he said. The renovation funding will also be used to install AstroTurf on Elbel Field. The funding has already been used to replace the roof and upkeep of the University’s ropes challenge course located on Dixboro Road, according to Canning.

To garner student input on the renovations, the Department of Recreational Sports held student focus groups last year and throughout the summer, Canning said.

LSA junior Jessica Kraft, who participated in multiple focus groups, said that as a member of the club softball team she is forced to play at Ann Arbor city parks rather than on University property because there is no regulation field. Since her team travels to other universities, she said she was able to compare their facilities to those of the University and gauge how they can be improved.

Kraft said she felt the University took student feedback into consideration when developing the final renovation plans. She said while the project may not be exactly what she would hope for, the University strived to incorporate the student perspective.

“Because of the size of the student body, it’s hard to capture our voice,” Kraft said. “It’s hard to know what the students want because we’re here for a couple years, and we’re gone, and a project like this is going to take a lot of time.”

The study that Harper commissioned will call for continued expansion of space at the gyms to more efficiently accommodate the growing student body, according to Canning. Recommendations for wireless Internet service, food areas and more are to be included in the report.

The University’s student body was the largest ever during the fall 2010 semester with 41,924 students enrolled at the Ann Arbor campus.