New fitness center opens doors

Long lines of students waited to buy memberships for Gimbel Gymnasium's extensive new center. A diverse group of dozens of undergraduate and graduate students waited inside Gimbel Gymnasium yesterday afternoon, ready and eager to pay $75 for a year-long membership at the newly opened, high-tech Katz Fitness Center. Meanwhile, in a nearby first-floor room adjacent to the center, University President Judith Rodin gathered with administrators and students to celebrate the grand opening of the two-story, 7,500-square-foot facility. The opening of the $1.2 million fitness center comes after years of complaints about the quality of the University's fitness and recreation facilities. In 1996, Penn hired the consulting firm of Brailsford & Dunlavey to recommend changes to the facilities. its report, released last April, suggested doubling Gimbel's size. Last spring, administrators said the new fitness center would provide a short-term fix to the shortage of recreation space. "When my son [a current Penn student] came home, he said the campus didn't have a fitness center," said Ellen Katz, who with her husband Howard donated $500,000 toward the project. "We couldn't believe a school of this stature wouldn't have a state-of-the art fitness center." The Katzes took the initiative, contacting the University's fundraising office last January. Recreation Director Mike Diorka and other administrators responded quickly, and with the family's donation in place, construction began in July. The center provides an alternative to two other nearby gyms: Sweat, at 24th and Walnut streets, and University City Nautilus at 40th and Locust streets. Both gyms, despite having some advantages over the Penn facility, have much higher membership fees. Though students will only be charged $75 to use the fitness centers in Gimbel and Hutchinson Gymnasium, faculty and staff will have to pay $200 for a 12-month membership. University alumni and community residents will be charged $225 and $250, respectively. Semester-long memberships cost $50 for students, $80 for faculty and staff and $100 for alumni and community residents. Among both students and administrators yesterday, excitement for the new facility was contagious and expectations were running high. "It looks very nice," College junior Jason Collison said as he examined the spacious cardiovascular room on the first floor. "It's so much better than other places [at Penn]." The exercise room on the first floor contains treadmills, bicycles and stairclimbers, as well as rowing ergometers and EFX cross-training equipment. The second floor is replete with free weights and weight machines. As the line inside Gimbel increased steadily, some students expressed concerns about overcrowding. "I don't want to have to wait forever," said College freshman Adam Eveloff. Administrators, however, seemed less concerned, with Diorka attributing most of the line to the "newness" of the facility. "For the first four or five weeks, yeah, it will be crowded," said Diorka, adding that he expects that Gimbel will also be a place to make new friends and socialize. "If you want a date for the weekend, this will be the place to go," Diorka joked. Athletic Director Steve Bilsky -- who has made recreation facilities one of his top priorities since he took office in 1994 -- began the 45-minute ceremony by retracing the history of the renovations. Bilsky, a 1971 Wharton graduate and former star Quakers basketball guard, said that even 30 years ago, there was a "general sense that there weren't sufficient facilities." After Rodin stressed the importance of combining a "sound mind" with a "sound body," Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Bill Conway, a College junior, told the crowd that his organization worked "diligently" to produce a new fitness center. The fitness center will remain open from 6:30 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, and from noon to 6 p.m. on weekends. The rest of the building, excluding Sheerr Pool, will remain open one hour later on weekends.