116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Errant soccer ball causes 600-gallon leak at UI Campus Wellness Center
Jan. 29, 2015 9:06 pm
IOWA CITY - University of Iowa crews are continuing extensive cleanup and repair work in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center after a patron on Monday kicked a soccer ball into a sprinkler head in the gym.
The ball hit a protective cover and caused the sprinkler to leak, according to Jeneane Beck, senior director of UI News Media Relations. An alarm sounded about 8:30 p.m. Monday, and Beck confirmed about 600 gallons of water spilled.
Authorities reviewed security footage of the incident and determined no malicious intent.
'It simply occurred through normal activity,” Beck said.
The gym remains closed, but the men's locker rooms have reopened, according to wellness center officials.
'We do not know the extent of the damage, or the cost, until we get all the water dried up,” Beck said. 'This could take a couple weeks.”
The recreation and wellness center opened in 2010 and boasts 20,000 square feet of fitness space on three levels, a 52.5-foot climbing wall, a 50-meter swimming pool, a jogging track, basketball courts, and a gym.
(File Photo) University of Iowa senior Fletcher Robertson of Peoria, Ill. works out at the UI Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Monday, April 25, 2011 in Iowa City. The mandatory fees paid by students at Iowa's three regents universities, which pay for facilities like the wellness center, have increased at a rate more than double the tuition increase since 2001. (Brian Ray/ SourceMedia Group News)
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