Grand opening postponed until beginning of spring semester, kinesiology coordinator says.
By Dillon Holloway
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The student fitness center has been moved from Loftin Student Center to Candler Physical Education Center but is still not available to students, facilities manager Linda Casas said Nov. 3.
The fitness center, previously located on the first floor of Loftin, now resides in Room 109 of Candler in the space once occupied by racquetball courts.
The fitness center was originally scheduled to be open to students Sept. 18-21, Mark Bigelow, interim director of student life, said Nov. 3.
The main cause for the delay has been the hiring of a temporary employee to work in the fitness center taking longer than anticipated, kinesiology Coordinator Brad Dudney said Nov. 9.
“First the position has to be advertised,” Dudney said. “Next, we have to go through the interview process and then the candidate that we select has to get transcripts sent to us along with reference checks. It is not a quick process.”
The fitness center will have one employee, and the hours of operation will be 11 a.m.-3:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday.
A soft opening of the fitness center before the end of the semester is still a possibility, Dudney said.
The fitness center will have a grand opening early in the spring semester.
Dudney said there will be an announcement once the specific grand opening date is decided.
The renovation of the racquetball courts was funded by this college’s institutional funding and stayed on budget costing $140,000, Dudney said.
Even though the fitness center is now the responsibility of the kinesiology program, the office of student life temporarily is still helping with upkeep of the fitness equipment, Bigelow said.
Bigelow said that all equipment — free weights, fixed weight machines, treadmills, elliptical machines, recumbent bikes and stair-climbing machines — were included in the move.
“This equipment has been here since before I got to SAC,” Bigelow said. “It makes much more sense to have it in a gym.”
Bigelow has been associated with this college since 2010.
The office of student life purchased the equipment with funds from the student activity fee and installed it in Loftin.
The office of student life has no current plans for the vacant room that held the equipment in Loftin, Bigelow said.
As a temporary solution students may work out 2-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday in the conditioning room in Room 117 of Candler.
For more information on the new student fitness center or other programs within the kinesiology program, call Dudney at 210-486-1017 or email bdudney@alamo.