The Albuquerque Kings, a wheelchair basketball team, will be allowed to continue practicing at Johnson Gym.
A new contract was worked out between the management of Johnson Center and a UNM group called the Associated Students for Empowerment.
Johnson Center management had told the Kings they would have to find a new place to practice if they couldn't afford the gym's annual fee.
ASE president Katryn Fraher said she found out about the team's troubles from an article in the Daily Lobo, but her organization couldn't act immediately.
"We were shocked and upset that this situation was happening, but we didn't have another meeting to discuss what we could do until the following Friday," she said. "(Johnson Center manager) Roger Wrolstad actually called us with an idea to help the Kings before our meeting, and the ball started rolling from there."
Wrolstad declined to comment.
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ASE signed a contract with Johnson Center that made the Kings a student-sponsored team. That will allow them to keep practicing in Johnson Gym, because student organizations get first priority there.
The contract will be in place through the fall.
Instead of paying to use the gym, the team will host monthly clinics for anyone who is interested in wheelchair basketball.
Jake Schmalzriedt, a forward on the team, said the Kings are happy to be able to stay at Johnson Center.
"It's a win-win situation," he said. "The team couldn't be happier, and I think the community will benefit from the clinics."
Fraher said the solution was made possible through cooperation between the campus community and the Kings.
"In the end, it was Roger and the Johnson Center working with us and making the contract possible," she said. "It was a solution that helps the Kings as well as the community as a whole."
