Five years of planning, one year of construction and $11 million later, students can now sweat for free on campus. The new facility located on-campus at the north end of the Breezeway includes new equipment for students who preferred to avoid the former, smaller gym.
The older gym, which was located next to the aquatic center on the west side of campus, was constantly filled with buff football players competing for the title of “sweatiest man.” But the new facility can accommodate the football players, other student athletes and then some more.
“This is much better than working out in the Oxley Center,” says FAU volleyball player Kala Abdell. “The football players work out in there so the floors are torn up and the wood benches are broken.”
The new gym with 38,000 square feet of space holds 40 pieces of cardio equipment, two circuit-training units, a free weight area, two indoor basketball courts and is considered by athletes to be better-equipped than the student athlete facility in the Tom Oxley center or the former gym on the west side of campus.
“I would have to go [to the former gym] around 6 a.m. or 10 p.m. just to get in and get a workout,” Abdell adds. “[The volleyball team] has been bumped out of the Burrow a couple of times, so now that the courts are here, I am hoping that we will have another place to practice.”
The new Recreational and Fitness Center is finally open and ready for some sweat, tears and fitness fiends. Since the facility has opened its doors, a constant stream of students entered the gym with fresh faces and left flushed with drenched towels hanging limply around their necks.
The gym was steadily full as students heard about the opening.
“I’m not quite sure the gym was advertised much at all, other than some signs around campus,” says Joanna Burns, the facilities coordinator of the Recreational and Fitness Center.
Although the facility lacked proper advertisement, students still heard about it. In the first week of operations, approximately 10,000 people entered the doors.
Dax Kuykendall, the assistant director of the gym, doesn’t expect the large amount of people coming in to end soon.
“Even when hype dies down, we expect to see about 1,000 people a day,” he says.
For students, the average price to work out for the semester is light, because it is free.
Other local gyms charge students anywhere between $20 and $60, and the new fitness center on campus provides students with a nice reprieve from spending during the book-buying season. Per semester, the new recreational center is free to all students, $100 for faculty and staff, and $125 for alumni.
Compare this price of zero dollars per semester to the prices of L.A. Fitness, which is located 2.7 miles from campus.
The average price per month for a membership to L.A. Fitness is $35 but can range anywhere from $29 to $54 per month, depending on your personalized plan that according to the chain, will be “just right for you.”
For the average student, faculty member or random pedestrian, this amounts to approximately $140 per semester, or four months (going by the average rate of $35 per month).
Although there is no contract that a student or faculty member would be locked in to, L.A. Fitness does require your first and last month’s payment up front and 30 days notice for cancellation. This means that if you forget to give notice at least a month in advance, you are required to pay for another month.
The bonus of paying no fees has made it easier for students to remain physically fit while in school.
“This is much more simple,” says junior Kate Cottrell, a fitness major who previously exercised at the gym chain where she paid $50 per month. “If I can cancel my L.A. Fitness contract then I will.”
The total cost of the gym including construction and equipment was $11 million.
According to the assistant director Dax Kuykendall, each student pays a certain amount of money in fees for every credit hour taken, and those fees go to a trust fund set up for all Florida universities by the Board of Governors.
“Over time the money accumulates, and every so often they release the money to the universities,” he says. “Five years ago FAU allocated $6 million for the rec center and basically borrowed the rest of the money from a future allocation from that trust fund.”
This new on-campus gym is the just the first stage of construction. The second stage, dubbed “Phase II,” will include an H-shaped pool for leisure and lap swimming, student and member lounge area, expanded locker rooms, and a food service area.
The project is supposed to be completed sometime next year. Until the new pool is complete, students are still able to use the current pool located on the west side of campus.
Construction for this second phase began immediately after completion of the first, and once Phase II is finished, the Rec and Fitness Center will be approximately 77,000 square feet.
Although L.A. Fitness does boast extra amenities, the on-campus gym is quickly gaining on these extras.
Other than the range of cardio and weight equipment, the rec center also includes two performance rooms for group fitness classes such as Yoga and Pilates.
The basketball courts, fitness classes and machines are all free to students, which, under a new roof, provide students with an easy way to remain healthy during the semester.
“The [old] facility is bad,” says Kala Abdell. “I’m definitely going to be coming here instead.”
