75,000-square-foot expansion ushers in new era of wellness at Binghamton’s East Gym

After nearly 70 years, Binghamton University’s oldest building has a new look — and is offering more wellness options for the campus-community.

The 75,000-square-foot addition at the East Gym, unveiled in mid-August, features an elevated indoor track, expanded fitness-training space, three basketball/volleyball courts, and five multipurpose rooms. The East Gym has served as the center of campus recreation, aquatics, and intramural activities since opening in April 1958.

Binghamton University President Anne D’Alleva provided the Class of 2030 with a first look at the expansion after students gathered on a nearby campus-recreation field for the annual “B” photo during Move-In Weekend on Aug. 15.

“In addition to physical well-being, traditions and school spirit are gigantic elements of student success — as well as for all our faculty and staff who make use of the East Gym,” says D’Alleva, who spoke at a ribbon-cutting ceremony four days later. “The new East Gym is going to be home to so much of that — making this building equally as important as any lecture hall or laboratory space on campus.”

D’Alleva notes that the importance of intramurals and well-being goes beyond the East Gym’s opening, to Binghamton’s beginnings as Triple Cities College in Endicott in 1946.

“The rich history of health, wellness, and fun will continue here in the new East Gym,” she says.

The key elements of the East Gym-Recreation Center expansion are:
• FitSpace 2: The fitness-center area (known as FitSpace) has increased by 40%, with new strength-training equipment added. The expanded space will provide more room and shorter waits for students and other users.
• Basketball/volleyball courts: Three new wood courts, located on the ground floor of the addition, will offer more access for open and intramural play. The courts will also be used for some men’s and women’s basketball team practices while the Events Center is renovated this fall. The older courts in the main East Gym will be used for badminton and pickleball.
• Indoor track: The 200-meter elevated track overlooks the courts and features a premium Mondo surface. Mondo has served as the official supplier of synthetic rubber track surfaces for the Olympic Games since 1976.
• Multipurpose spaces: Two rooms have rubberized flooring for group-fitness classes and club meetings. One room has a wooden floor that can be used for dance classes or club sports. A fourth room has monitors, chairs, and tables for staff training, certification courses, and potential classes. The fifth room is a socialization/recreation area with table tennis, foosball, couches, charging stations, and projection monitors.

The East Gym saw 280,000 visitors in the 2025–26 academic year, including more than 66,000 for open-play basketball. All students have access to open-recreation activities, such as swimming, basketball, tennis, indoor walking, and volleyball, through their recreation fee. A separate fitness membership is needed for FitSpace.

Tom St. John, director of campus recreational services since September 2023, expects the expansion to draw even more student memberships.

“Students want a place where they can de-stress, socialize, and be part of a non-academic community,” he says. “The East Gym affords all of those opportunities. There’s the old mantra: If you build it, they will come.”

Brian Rose, vice president for student affairs, recalls that the original 102,000-square-foot East Gym was “showing its age” when he began his position in January 2008.

“If you looked at the equipment, you would have seen some antique treadmills,” says Rose, who also spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “The gym floor at the time had been sanded so many times that I’d describe it as wood veneer, as opposed to actual wood. So, I became an advocate for renovation and expansion.”

Renovation arrived in 2012, as the East Gym received a new FitSpace area, multipurpose rooms, and a re-floored gym. In 2021, an outdoor fitness court with bodyweight equipment opened. But
more space was needed to accommodate Binghamton’s growing student population. University funds were approved for the project in 2024.

“Sometimes, higher-education investment in recreation gets panned,” Rose says. “But we didn’t build any lazy rivers or waterparks. There’s nothing frivolous about what we’ve done. I look forward to the ways in which it contributes to student life.”

One way is the alignment with the Healthy Campus Initiative, which aims to create a culture and environment that encourages and supports healthy living.

“This facility provides a place where students can bring physical activity into their daily routine,” says Rose, who adds that exercise can also be effective in helping people better manage anxiety and depression.

The East Gym is also one of the larger student employers on campus, with more than 150 on staff for Campus Recreation.

“Aside from the general job skills that students learn here, many over the years have developed
career paths in recreation and related fields — like physical therapy and facilities management,” Rose says. “All of those benefits will now be available to a greater number of students.”

St. John points to several highlights of the addition, such as more stair-climbing machines and 22 new treadmills (added in 2025 on a three-year replacement schedule) in the FitSpace area, which also offers a friendly flow of exercise spots for the “strength-training curious.” He calls the elevated indoor track “long overdue and needed.” And he believes the multipurpose recreation room will enable people to remain in the building after wellness visits.

“We think it could be a popular spot for watch parties for sporting events like March Madness,” he says. “People can come into this facility not just for a workout, but for socialization. We’d like them to come through the doors and stay awhile.”

The East Gym’s legacy, which connects Harpur College, SUNY Binghamton, and Binghamton University graduates from the Class of 1959 to the Class of 2026, is not lost on St. John.

“It’s important to remember the past, live in the present, and keep an eye toward the future,” he says. “I would encourage our alumni to come back to their familiar East Gym, see how it’s changed, and feel the vibrancy and energy.”

It’s a vibrancy and energy that has been in place for decades in the University’s commitment to student wellness.

“This expansion speaks to how impactful a facility and a department like this can be to students,” St. John says. “They can find their community and learn lifelong skills. For example, we offer 45 club sports — and you don’t have to be a high-school athlete to play. You can come to meetings and practices and learn about the sports. We have something for everyone on campus.

“Having seen facilities nationwide and in the SUNY system, I can say with complete conviction: What we have built at the East Gym is truly special. Simply put, this facility was built to play. It is something our University and community can be proud of.”

Learn about the origins of the East Gym