New Hill fitness center opens for tours as part of Recreation Day
UCLA officials spent more than $3 million on a new gym on the Hill. Students will be able to tour the new facility on Friday before it officially opens in two weeks. (Alyssa Dorn/Daily Bruin)
By Jillian Frankel
Sept. 25, 2015 7:10 a.m.
This post was updated on Sept. 28 at 4:18 p.m.
UCLA students living on campus can tour the new gym on the Hill Friday but will not be able to use the facility for another two weeks.
The Bruin Fitness Center, located beneath Bruin Plate on the ground floor of Carnesale Commons, cost about $3.3 million to construct and features cardio and weight lifting equipment, among other exercise machinery. UCLA Housing funds paid for the project.
UCLA spokeswoman Rebecca Kendall said the new gym will be open to all undergraduates.
The tours will be a part of a larger UCLA event called Recreation Day, where students can watch club sports demonstrations and sample different fitness classes. Student employees will lead full gym orientation tours every five minutes to explain how to use the machinery.
Unlike the John Wooden Center, the new gym does not have multipurpose rooms for group exercise classes, but it does include different equipment such as a heavy bag, which is used for punching and martial arts.
Erin Campbell, a FITWELL coordinator, said UCLA officials chose to build a gym on the Hill to accommodate the high demand for a workout space among undergraduates, who will pay for maintenance through quarterly fees.
“We currently don’t have adequate space for recreation programs (at UCLA), so this was going to be a satellite facility to provide more square feet of exercise space,” Campbell said.
She added students might be more compelled to work out if they know there are multiple gyms close by that are not completely full.
Campbell added the Bruin Fitness Center features a smaller strength and conditioning zone similar to the one in the John Wooden Center. Its cardio equipment includes traditional treadmills, rowers, spin bikes and a new Treadwall.
Jamie Escobar, a fourth-year international development studies student, said she would regularly attend the new gym instead of the John Wooden Center if it features a variety of exercise machines but is unsure if the additional workout space is worth the cost.
“Considering we already have a gym, I think (UCLA Housing) could have spent less,” Escobar said. “Other student organizations need more money.”
Second-year undeclared student Alexia George said she probably won’t visit the new gym for the first few weeks to avoid the crowds.
“It gives students on the Hill more of an incentive to work out, but there are always better things to spend money on,” George added.
Kendall said the Bruin Fitness Center will be open for regular hours sometime within the next two weeks.
