MARQUETTE, MI-- As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Northern Michigan University is suspending most non-university access to the NMU Sports Complex until March 30. The NMU Sports Complex includes the Superior Dome, Physical Education and Instructional Facility (PEIF) and Berry Events Center.
Effective immediately (Friday, March 13):
· Only NMU students, faculty and staff with proper identification and PEIF members will be allowed to use the facilities during this period.
· No day pass memberships will be sold.
· Entrance to the complex will be only select doors that will be monitored with ID check in.
· This action will be reevaluated on March 30 for possible extension or return to regularly scheduled hours and activities on April 3.
According to NMU President Fritz Erickson, this decision supports Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s guidelines for Michigan’s 15 public universities to reduce large group gatherings where possible and to increase frequency of cleaning high traffic public areas as a measure to stop of the coronavirus. The restricted access also enables Northern’s custodial staff to clean the complex to the levels recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the pandemic.
“Many universities have completely closed their recreation facilities because they are such challenging areas to keep clean, but after considerable discussion on the matter, we concluded we could safely keep the buildings available to our primary users if we decreased nearly all non-university activities. We may have to completely close the Complex at a point in the future, but for now it’s open for university use.”
