Last week the official start of the intramural basketball season and the renovation of the Intramural and Physical Education Building collided, leaving many students caught in a full-court press. IMPE’s renovation, a two-year project, means thousands of students will have to look elsewhere for their sports activities.

The four basketball courts in the east wing at IMPE are now reserved from 7 p.m. to midnight for the 225 basketball teams participating in the five different intramural basketball leagues.

Officials at Campus Recreation are trying to create a balanced schedule for basketball courts across campus and are helping club sports find other buildings to use. They’ve also changed hours to better accommodate non-intramural basketball players.

“We’re trying our best to keep as many courts open,” said Charles D. Anderson, assistant director of Intramurals and Sport Clubs.

Anderson recommended two Urbana locations for non-intramural basketball players: Kenney Gym, 1402 W. Springfield Ave., and the Campus Recreation Center East, 1102 W. Gregory St. Kenney Gym is now open from 10 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Thursday and from 9 p.m. to midnight Sundays.

“Earlier in the year there were open courts all the time (at Campus Recreation Center East),” said Tim Schuessler, sophomore in LAS. “Now it takes at least an hour to play one game.”

Additional relief for crowded basketball courts will come after Spring Break when Campus Recreation will open its outdoor basketball courts. For now, Anderson urged students to “be patient” when trying to find open court space.

For some students, patience is not an option.

The Underwater Hockey Club had six hours of pool time reserved each week at IMPE, but have recently been limited to only three hours of pool time at Freer Hall, said club president Jennifer Gall, sophomore in Engineering. IMPE’s closing prevents the team from hosting its own tournaments and has forced them to buy an extra hour-and-a-half per week in pool time at $45 per hour from the Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center for additional practice, said Gall.

“I wish they had thought in advance and made CRCE’s pool a usable pool instead of a fun pool,” she said.