by INFORUM
Fitness center at Urban Plains to be ‘revolutionary’
June 10, 2010 at 5:47 am in INFORUM
Two nonprofits are joining forces to build a new $12 million fitness center in southwest Fargo that will feature a recreation pool and indoor track among other amenities.
Sanford Health-MeritCare and the YMCA of Cass and Clay Counties, which formed a 50-50 partnership, expect to break ground this summer and open the doors in fall 2011. Continue reading…
A have a number of concerns/comments & questions:
Is it just me or should Sanford/ Merit Care simply be “minding the store”? Within the past 2 years they’ve suffered layoffs. So, now they have $6 million to spend on something like this? What’s next- a Sanford/Hornbacher’s grocery super store, “so our patients have a place to shop for healthy foods”?????
The YMCA piece: First, the Moorhead YMCA members must be in fits since they have had to look at that “Future Site of YMCA” sign in south east Moorhead get old while the Y tells them that they are still raising funds for it. So ,where did the Y’s $6 million come from? And to tell existing Y members like myself that there will be a limit of 12 visits per YEAR? Was the YMCA board involved here?
Finally, in the hierarchy of our cites’ recreational needs, I question the necessity of this thing altogether. What about the other facilities that we REALLY need? Among other things, we have unfinished sheets of ice to build. Even more pressing is the need for a true Olympic size (50 meters) pool.
Here’s a novel idea- these groups (and others) should get TOGETHER and talk about the cities recreational needs instead of going off and creating silos of self-interest and self serving agendas and produce facilities based on need and sustainability? (On the pool side alone, there are no less than 3 separate groups trying to raise money for 3 different pools-each with their own vision of what it should be)
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
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Yes YMCA, still waiting on that Moorhead site a mile from my home while I drive across town to the crammed Fargo sites. Now we will have three Fargo Y sites and Moorhead gets the short-end as usual (well 2 and a fifth really since we can hardly use it.) Is this what my $47 a month is being used for? Don’t need to say much more since Scooter said it all. This 6 million better not have come from the Moorhead facility fund or I am out of there and guessing others will also be tired of waiting and follow suit.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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The YMCA isn’t the only health club in town, and supporting Fargo Ys isn’t going to get one built in Moorhead any sooner. Why would they build it if you are willing to travel now? Your actions are decreasing demand in Moorhead, not increasing it.
If you want to increase demand, join a Moorhead club instead.
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I feel for the gym owners in Fargo-Moorhead. You have the YMCA abusing its non-profit status to compete commercially , a bloated organization that has a history of layoffs and budget woes, and not to mention there are 40+ fitness centers in the FM area, most of which are concentrated in south Fargo.
Why build another gym? Why not build an athletic performance/training center instead? A swimming center?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Scooter has raised some very good points. Wages frozen for 2+ years, colleagues laid off, and now they are dumping millions into a gym. Furthermore, doesn’t MeritCare already have a facility in South Fargo, at their SouthPointe location? Do they really need another one just 3 miles away? What about a facility for their employees that live on the north side of town? Or are south side locations being provided only for those employees who really count (i.e. MDs).
By becoming partners with a non-profit organization like the Y, are they going to be crossing the line by having a business partnership with a religious organization? I am not asking this to start a derogatory comment chain regarding religion. My question is, they get a lot of federal grant dollars for their oncology program. Could they be putting those dollars in jeopardy by becoming bedfellows with the Y?
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Fargo-Moorhead really, really, REALLY needs an indoor waterpark style pool facility. I sincerely hope that the “planners” of this newest facility are going to incorporate water slides into this new pool. It gets old seeing the same generic sterile facility with a plain pool. Fargo NEEDS some options for cold weather indoor activity destinations! Putting in a pair of tall spiral slides, and possibly a rope swing would go a LONG way towards this end!
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