With winter crowding on the horizon and renovations to the Tufts Lunder Fitness Center still years from completion, Jumbos looking for an exercise fix may soon be facing some frustrations.
Enter Boston Sports Club (BSC), a private gym opening up in Davis Square this month and the newest addition to a national chain of fitness centers with locations in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. The Somerville facility will feature a 15,000 square foot fitness center located above the new CVS at 1 Davis Square.
"We'll be starting to sell memberships next week and giving tours," said the gym's general manager, Pia Bertoney-Gross, adding that new members will be able to use the facility "probably another month after that."
Although BSC will provide another option for health-obsessed Jumbos, don't expect it to make Lunder obsolete - or even to reduce waiting lines for the treadmill. According to students, distance and cost will keep them headed to Cousens Gym in spite of the usual wintertime crowds.
"I wouldn't join [the Boston Sports Club] when you have a free gym on campus and it's closer," senior Stella Deych said.
According to senior John DeCarli, who works at the Lunder Fitness Center, money will motivate most students to stay on campus for exercise.
"I think some people might use the new gym, but the big draw here is it's free," he said. "We might not have a rock wall, but people will still come here."
DeCarli explained that other fitness facilities have opened nearby in the past wihtout affecting the number of gym users at Tufts.
"There's a Workout World [on Boston Avenue] and some people go there for different equipment, but we're still busy every day," DeCarli said.
But Bertoney-Gross said that cost is not the only important factor in deciding where to pump iron or work up a sweat. Instead, she emphasized the quality of the gym facilities.
"Fitness is an important part of everyone's life. Whether or not the prices are exactly what you want to pay, anything is worth it if you are getting the results you want," she said.
Lunder Director Mike Pimentel stressed that although some alumni and community members purchase memberships to the gym, Tufts does not try to compete with commercial businesses.
"We're not a for-profit; in fact, we're not even close," Pimentel said. "It's a community relations thing. It's a relationship that Tufts wants to continue with alumni."
Pimentel said he doesn't think that BSC will have much of an impact at Tufts.
"I don't believe there will be a huge effect felt here," he said.
However, Pimentel did think that the BSC might attract some students.
"There always would be a certain population that feels more comfortable going somewhere else. As long as they're moving and happy, that's all that matters."
Senior Cameron Cundiff, a commuter student, is one Jumbo who has a membership to another area gym. He said the BSC could serve as a welcome alternative for some students.
"It's off campus and may offer a different experience, and that maybe has an element of motivation," he said. "Just being away from the college scene, being in an environment that's different, and being around people you've not met before may be encouraging."
The opportunity to avoid familiar faces might be appreciated by some students.
"I'd rather not run into people at the gym, actually, because when I'm there, I'm in my own little world," Deych said.
Bertoney-Gross added that the location of the new BSC might be a draw for Tufts students.
"Because we're a Boston Sports Club, what attracts most people is our convenient locations," she said. "It might be a way for people to get away from campus. [Davis Square] is a great area and it will be more of a community gym because people live in the area."
Despite the advantages, Cundiff said that whether the facilities offered by the gym are worth the price remains to be seen.
"I've been to the Boston Sports Club in Central [Square] and it was discouraging. It was very crowded, it wasn't well-lit and the environment felt uninviting," Cundiff said. "Whether or not that will be true at this one, I don't know."
Regardless of where and how they do it, students interviewed said that, in general, most Jumbos take exercise seriously.
"The people who I hang out with are people who are always exercising, and I would say probably most people have a general mindset where it's important to be fit," senior Jake Fromer said. "Fitness is a very important thing, and whatever Tufts can do to promote it to people who wouldn't normally be exercising is good."
In September, the Daily reported that a $10 million donation from Steve Tisch (A '71) will go toward the construction of a new addition to Tufts' fitness facilities. Construction on the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center will take about two years and is tentatively set to begin in November 2008. Included in the construction will be renovations to some facilities in Cousens Gym and Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center.
Students interviewed said the potential renovations would be a positive step.
"I think Tufts should be promoting fitness and health, but just redoing the gym facility will be nice," Deych said. "People will use it because it's a novelty."
Pimentel said that the project will better serve the community's needs.
"We maximize our facilities, but the truth is we struggle to support with the amount of space that we have," he said. "There's lots of thought that's going into [the construction], and when it's done it will be amazing. It will be a chain reaction that will happen to better service our population."
