The Aztec Recreation Center is currently at an all-time high for membership.
With more than 18,500 members, current space is becoming increasingly crowded.
“As of now, Associated Students does not plan on capping membership,” said Chris Thomas, recreation and wellness commissioner. “This is a community-based gym so it’s not just SDSU students that use the gym, it’s the community as well.”
Recently, a new state-of-the art gym, exclusive for club athletes, opened up.
It also facilitates Olympic and instructional classes, as well.
As of now, though, it will remain just that, an exclusive gym for only a few as opening it up to the wider student body would require A.S. to staff it for health and safety reasons.
Sophomore international business major Kate Seperack said the new gym shouldn’t be open to students.
“Honestly, I think it’s fine how it is,” she said. “You just have to find the prime time to go.”
A future expansion may be on the horizon, though.
There are ongoing development talks that would set a roadmap for expanding the main ARC.
Afterwards, the old area would be renovated to match the new development. It would most likely be a horizontal expansion, as that would allow the old gym to remain in use during construction.
A vertical expansion to build a second story would require the entire facility to shut down and would be more expensive thanks to overnight construction costs. The current plan is to double the square footage from 70,000 to 140,000.
“Just because it is currently experiencing a lot of overuse, a lot of new memberships are coming in,” Thomas said. “It’s getting to become a small space for the amount of people we have to accommodate on a daily basis.”
In terms of canceling inactive memberships, that is not an option on the table.
“I would hope you would use it as you are paying the $19 per month. I do not see us revoking it just because you are not going to the gym,” Thomas said.
“At that point it is the member’s responsibility as to whether they would like to cancel their membership or not.”
Several students shared their concerns about the ARC.
“I do feel the ARC is overcrowded, but it just depends at what time you go,” freshman business administration major Marty Rascon said.
“For the most part it’s really hard to find equipment. People are always using things you want to use and it takes forever to transition to new exercises.”
Senior communications major Logan Lopez agreed.
“The ARC can be overcrowded, especially during the peak hours from 3 to 7 p.m.,” Lopez said. “Unless you are there really early or really late in the evening it can be really overcrowded.”
