Men’s soccer coach Rudy Fuller, along with the rest of the Penn Athletics community, had heard about the University’s plans for the George A. Weiss Pavilion — connected to historic Franklin Field — since they were released last summer.
But during one of his first few times in the Pavilion’s world-class weight room, Fuller said, “nothing could have prepared us for this.”
The formal dedication of the structure, an addition to the north side of Franklin Field at 33rd St., will not take place until this upcoming fall. Since the end of classes, however, Penn’s varsity athletes have packed into the intercollegiate weight room to get started on offseason training.
And, much to their delight, they’ve been introduced to what Fuller called “arguably the top weight room in the country.”
“It’s I think completely transformed the experience for student-athletes,” he said. “It blows people away. They just can’t wait to get in here.”
Strength and Conditioning Manager Jim Steel has witnessed similar responses from student-athletes, noting them some looked like “a kid in a candy store.” With two running tracks spanning the entire room, state-of-the-art equipment — including 30 weightlifting racks, 40 LifeFitness machines and 18 heavy bags for kickboxing — and, most importantly, 18,600 square feet of space, the new weight room opens up a variety of training possibilities.
“We want our athletes to enjoy their workouts and to want to train,” Steel said. “The new facility provides more opportunities for different exercises, expands the workouts we can do … [and] makes the programs more effective.”
The old weight room, located a floor above the new one, encompassed 4,500 square feet of space. With four times that in the new facility, multiple teams can work out at once so scheduling is no longer a “nightmare,” according to Steel.
Soccer player Kaitlin Campbell said she was struck by the size and cleanliness of the new facility. In fact, Campbell was so excited about using it that she decided to stay at Penn for the summer to train for the upcoming season.
“I wish I had more time here,” the rising senior said.
Campbell, who was not even shown the weight room during her visit prior to coming to Penn, believes the addition will help recruiting immensely. Fuller and Steel agreed, pointing out that tours have already seen a boost in interest and frequency.
“This may be the most important improvement to facilities in my time at Penn,” said Fuller, who is entering his 13th season with the Quakers. “This in one fell swoop just improved every athletic team at Penn.”
While the weight room is only available to varsity athletes, the other main section of Weiss Pavilion, the Fox Fitness Center, is set to open Tuesday according to Director of Athletic Communications Mike Mahoney. The center will be available to all Penn undergraduates, as well as people with memberships at the David Pottruck Health and Fitness Center.
Retail space for food and beverages, game-day concessions and catering will make up the final component of the nearly-$26 million project.
“[Weiss Pavilion] molds into the history and tradition of Franklin Field,” Steel said. “It’s definitely gonna become an integral part of the area.”
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