The Roos Recreation Center celebrated its grand opening on May 26, 2018. Since then, the center has been busy, says center manager Andrew Doss.
“Since running a fitness facility like this was new to many of us, we weren’t sure what to expect in terms of enrollment,” he said. “We soft-estimated around 2,000 memberships purchased within the first year, not including day passes. Now we have over 4,000.”
The popularity of the center has allowed the purchase of a fifth treadmill, a stairmaster, and a rowing machine. Program expansion is another benefit of the new center. Previously, Doss said, the park district used the Forest Park Middle School and Field Stevenson gyms, when available, for classes and programs. Now classes can be held in the gym and the multipurpose room at the Roos.
Although only in very preliminary discussion at this point, future plans may include an expansion of the Roos Recreation Center, both to the north and the east, which would allow for a bigger fitness room.
“We have enough room now,” said Doss. “But with an increase in enrollment, we may need to look at that in the future.”
