Evanston residents are placing increasing value on the benefits of exercise – up to $1,500 annually, to be exact, to be a member of Northwestern gyms. But the greater cost may be decreasing student satisfaction.
Although created primarily to better serve the NU student community, the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and Aquatics Center – also known as SPAC – is now catering to more than 2,000 non-student households, said Natasha Brown Moss, director of marketing and membership services for NU’s Department of Athletics and Recreation. These households include the families of faculty, alumni and Evanston residents not affiliated with the university.
Prices for SPAC membership also reflect different relationships with the university. Those unaffiliated with the university must give a “mandatory annual donation” of $1,000 in addition to a steep $495 membership fee. Faculty and part-time students must pay $260 per year, while alumni pay $495 and other affiliates are charged $599 per year..
Some residents, like SPAC attendee Karin Ruetzel, do not mind the prices in return for all of the benefits the center offers. A former member of Evanston Athletic Club, Ruetzel said there are aspects of SPAC that have kept her loyal for eight years, more than she can say for any other fitness facility.
“I like that I can see the lake when I work out,” she said. “I also live two blocks away, so being able to walk here is a big plus, especially given Evanston’s parking conditions.”
Along with access to the general fitness machines in the Sports Pavilion, the membership now includes access to SPAC, Combe Tennis Center (for additional court fees), Patten Gym, Blomquist Recreation Center and, most recently, NU’s North Beach.
However, Evanston residents taking advantage of SPAC can cause inconvenience for NU students, whose membership is included in tuition, students said.
According to SPAC employee and Weinberg junior Anthony Feenick, SPAC swipe-ins “seem to be up to 35 percent Evanston locals.” As Evanston is home to many retired residents as well as working families, times before 10 a.m. or after 8 p.m. appear to be “all Evanston residents” filling the fitness classes, swimming facilities and tennis courts, he said.
The presence of so many locals affects the atmosphere of the gym, students said.
“It just doesn’t cater to the student population and younger, more high-tech users,” Feenick said.
SPAC is wired with the ability to play music, as seen by the intercom announcements, but does not take advantage of these capabilities.
Alumni have donated treadmills and other machines with features such as built in TV-screens, but the gym has rejected both – even sending back machine donations because of complaints from Evanston residents that these additions would “ruin the scenery.”
“Students could care less about the smaller issues,” Feenick said. “It’s always Evanston residents complaining that the towels are not warm enough or other things like that.”
But Moss holds that all SPAC decisions are a “philosophical balancing act,” saying the gym always puts students as its top priority, as it was created to enhance their university experience beyond the classroom. Still, she said, Evanston residents’ desires must also be addressed as their membership fees constitute a large source of revenue for the gym.
“The fact that we can now offer cardio classes and other services free to students is because of the revenue from (these residents’) fees,” Moss said. “It is always a balancing act to put these two groups together.”
