Things were starting to get a little cramped in AIB College of Business’ Activities Center.

The $5 million, 12-year-old facility will house more sports next year, and will add more space to do so.

AIB in 2007 added women’s basketball as the first school-sponsored sport on campus after the program disbanded in the 1950s. With more sports on the way, an addition is necessary, said President Nancy Williams. The $1.5 million expansion broke ground earlier this month, and is expected to be completed by the fall.

“We did have this beautiful facility, and we didn’t feel like we were utilizing it to its fullest extent,” Williams said. “We’re excited about this project. It’s something we’ve felt like we needed for a while.”

It is all part of a strategic growth for athletics. In addition to women’s basketball, AIB also has men’s and women’s golf teams that play at the Copper Creek Golf Club. Starting in the upcoming school year, AIB will add women’s volleyball and men’s basketball to the Activities Center, and plans to add men’s and women’s soccer in 2012 and baseball and softball in 2013.

First things first, though; the facility has to be ready by the time basketball season starts.

The most notable enhancement will be more space. The lower level of the expansion will house additional storage space, the men’s basketball locker rooms, and men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms for visiting teams.

The upper level will open up room for a workout space that will be used by athletes, students, staff and community members. It will include a weight room, exercise floor and exercise equipment room. The current exercise equipment room on the second floor will be converted into office space, and a separate weight room on the ground floor will become a training room for athletes.

AIB is now an associate member of the Midwest Collegiate Conference (the same conference as Grand View University) at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics level of competition. To become a full-fledged member of the conference, a school must have men’s basketball, baseball and soccer, and women’s basketball, softball, volleyball and soccer.

“We couldn’t do all that in one season, so we said, ‘Here’s our plan,’” Williams said.

Adding athletics adds to the student experience, and could help attract students to AIB, she said.

“It just sort of gives us a school spirit that maybe was missing,” Williams said. “It’s part of the collegiate experience to have athletics.”