You might have heard rumors in the last few weeks that the delayed opening of the Carle Varsity weight room and Adam Press Fitness Center was due to a customs inspection and that the weights were purchased from a foreign company.
The weights weren’t overseas; they were in Houston.
Since the approval of its renovation in May 2011, much of the construction of the El Pomar Sports Center has been shrouded in mystery. Students and faculty retreated to the Worner Center’s Tiger Pit to pump iron and lift, but as the planned opening date for El Pomar’s weight rooms came and went, false reports surrounding the whereabouts of CC’s strength equipment circulated around campus.
As construction progresses on the El Pomar Sports Center, faculty, students and athletes alike are itching to begin using the facility, especially for strength training. Originally expected to open Sept. 3, overall construction delayed the opening of El Pomar, including the Carle Varsity weight room and the Adam Press Fitness Center.
For weeks, rumors floated about campus about why the facility was opening late; it was thought that strength equipment belonging in the weight rooms were stuck in U.S. customs and that the weights were purchased from a foreign company.
That’s not the case, according to Ken Ralph, Athletic Director at Colorado College.
The weights and strength equipment were purchased from Samson Equipment, a New Mexico-based company, which ordered logoed weight plates from Troy Barbell and Fitness, another U.S. company, said Ralph.
“We had 90 percent of our shipment on time,” said Ralph, “but we had to wait for the construction to finish before we could open.”
Logoed weight plates composed the portion of the delayed shipment, which contrary to speculation were not stuck in customs, but rather in a Houston warehouse waiting to be delivered by a supplier.
“This is not an uncommon occurrence,” said Ralph. “[…] The Carle Varsity weight room will serve as the campus weight room until the Press Fitness Center is completed. The Press Fitness Center will open in March.”
The strength center at Adam Press cost roughly $1 million for completion, a figure that includes the cost of 12 lifting racks, 12 pieces of cardio equipment, dumbbells, back machines and medicine balls.
While the generous individual of the same name funded the Adam Press Fitness Center, a benevolent anonymous individual funded the Carle Varsity weight room.
Light floods into El Pomar’s third floor main entrance on West Cache La Poudre Street. Students and faculty sign in at the main desk and to the right is a student lounge complete with a new flat screen Sony and comfortable chairs. The Carle Varsity weight room, the temporary campus weight room, can be accessed via elevator or stairs on the first floor.
Harboring state-of-the-art strength and conditioning amenities, the Carle Varsity weight room contains a surplus of equipment: lifting racks accented with brightly colored weights, treadmills, modified elliptical machines, stationary bikes (four of each), a mirrored wall lined with free weights and a separate room with medicine balls.
Head strength and conditioning coach Kevin Cronin’s office is also located in Carle.
“We are pleased that the quality of the facility is very good,” Ralph said. “We are looking forward to seeing students in the spaces.”
As of publication, the Carle Varsity Strength Training room in El Pomar is open Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.
Colleen Leong
Guest Writer