CENTRAL — The Central-Clemson Indoor Recreation Center, which first opened in 1999, will be closed for about a week in September while it undergoes maintenance improvements.

Clemson Administrator Rick Cotton said there are major maintenance items that need to be completed, including refinishing of the gymnasium floor, pool maintenance work and the replacement of fitness machines.

“We need to do all of these items at once so it will be less of an inconvenience than spreading them out over a one-month period,” Cotton said during a recent joint meeting between Clemson and Central council members. “When it reopens, it will be a brand new look and equipment.”

The equipment, consisting of 28 pieces at a cost of $173,000, will replace 23 pieces already in existence and the addition of five new pieces. It will include treadmills, elliptical machines, upright bikes, bikes geared toward seniors and ski machines.

Cotton said communication regarding the improvements would be provided to members well in advance of the closure date.

The improvements come as Clemson and Central councils have sought ways to bring the facility out of the red financially. The center experienced a $150,000 financial loss during the past budget year, due not only to a decrease in memberships but also payment for a natatorium dehumidification system and glitches in a computer membership tracking system, in which some inactive membership names were incorrectly included in current membership roll lists.

During Monday night’s joint meeting, four council representatives — Clemson City Council members Nancy Bennett and Butch Trent and Central Town Council members Tracy O’Dell Chapman and Harry Holladay — agreed to serve on a committee designed to develop a plan to bring the center back to the break-even point.

While one of the biggest problems the center has faced is a membership decline of nearly 300 during the past two years, Central Mayor Mac Martin said he attributes some of that to upkeep issues.

“I received calls regarding the cleanliness of the facility, including the locker rooms,” Martin said.

However, Martin added that concerns about locker room conditions have since been addressed.