Nestled between Rice-Eccles Stadium and the University Campus Store is a facility where U students are a card swipe away from a variety of free gym equipment.
The Einar Nielsen Field House, located at 375 S. 1400 East, provides amenities such as tennis courts, cardio machines, whirlpools, saunas and both free and circuit weights to U students and faculty.
A UCard is your ticket in, as opposed to leading gym memberships such as Gold’s Gym or 24 Hour Fitness, where start up fees are as high as $100.00. Though some students may think these brand name gyms invest in better equipment, student employees at the Field House say differently. Students pay a $14 recreation fee each semester to support the Field House and other campus recreation programs.
“Since it’s free, I was really surprised by the quality and variety of equipment we have here, especially the nice TVs,” said Chavalah Washington, a Field House employee and exercise and sports science major. Despite its new treadmills and flat screen TVs, employees say the Field House is under used.
“Considering that 27,000 students attend the U, the Field House is not so well utilized,” said Sean Reichert, an employee at the gym and a senior in parks and recreation.
Reichert said his end of the day receipt counter usually shows an average of 1,500 gym-goers, and he estimates 1,000 of them are students.
Pioneer Theatre Company employee Jon Stansfield said he sees few people at the gym when he goes there to run twice a week.
“There are usually only one or two other people there when I am,” he said.
“More people definitely need to come in,” said Forrest Wrenn, a senior in meteorology who has worked at the Field House for two years. “But the U is a commuter campus and that’s one of the main problems.”
Despite this, Wrenn said there are a lot of regulars.
Hoa Nguyen, a senior in chemistry, said he visits the Field House three or four times a week to play tennis on one of the two courts available there.
In the case of full-time U employees such as Stansfield, a payroll deduction is taken for Field House membership.
Students must pay a fee for classes and equipment rentals.
Kickboxing, Latin dance, and mat pilates are some of the classes offered. Weekly classes start at $37.00 and twice-a-week classes are $57.00.
Equipment rentals range from 40 cents for a jump rope to $4.50 for a tennis ball machine.
For more information about the Field House visit web.utah.edu/campusrec.
Jarad ReddekoppThe field house offers exercise equipment to U students. During an average day only 1,000 of the U’s 27,000 students visit the field house to use the facilities available to them.