Kroc Center Hits Six Months

COEUR d’ALENE -- Years ago, it projected it would have around 1,500 members.

Shortly after the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center opened May 11, membership reached 6,000, doubling around a month later.

Now, it’s nearly 17,000, a half year after it opened. "We’ve gone from a busy summer to a busy fall," said John Chamness, Kroc Center executive director.

Today is Kroc’s six-month anniversary; 185 days of basketball and soccer games, spin, tone and dance classes, aerobic workouts, weight lifts, swim meets, concerts, stage productions and rock climbs.

What’s happened inside the $38 million facility since it opened? Plenty.

With nearly 200,000 total visitors, it has increased staff to 219 employees -- more than 100 additional positions since it opened. It has hosted swim meets with 387 swimmers between dozens of teams. Singer Aimee Mann rocked a sold out show, and church services draw in 150 each week. In short, it’s become a model of a community center.

"People are coming to see how successful we’ve been," Chamness said.

The third center to open since Joan Kroc donated $1.5 billion to The Salvation Army upon her death in 2003, it’s now used as a blueprint for other awarded cities looking to complete centers of their own.

Augusta, Ga., toured the center on Monday and Chicago is expected on Nov. 19. Washington, D.C., and New York should be visiting next year.

Part of the appeal is it offers something for almost everyone. "It’s definitely more family oriented," said Robby Mueller, a near-daily visitor lifting weights on Monday. "I’m a soccer coach so it’s nice to see the kids running around here rather than sitting at home doing nothing."

It’s hard to hide 17,000 plus guests, so one thing the Kroc’s been is busy.

Meanwhile, other clubs have seen old members returning since the center opened, preferring less crowded gyms.

"The Kroc Center definitely impacted us with members who went there because it’s nice for families who want to take their grandchildren," said Susie Munson, owner of the three area Curves for Women locations, the female-only workout centers. "On the positive side we’ve also seen a lot of members come back to us."

"It’s a different atmosphere with the children and husbands," she said.

Rich Palmer, manager of Coeur d’Alene Athletic Club, said membership at the downtown athletic club has increased by 100 a month since the Kroc Center opened. The quaint atmosphere keeps young adults and professionals attracted to the gym.

"We’re more of an athletic club, not a community center," he said. "We get a lot of the single individuals and the couples who join, not so much children, and a lot of the people who live and work downtown."

Gary Retter, owner of Peak Health and Wellness Center, said his three clubs have noticed a similar trend since the Kroc opened, as some members who originally left are beginning to return to the club.

"Most people who are starting to come back want an adult environment," he said, adding the overall new growth is down slightly compared to last year. "It’s about what we expected."

Even with six better-than-anticipated months turned on the calendar, the community center is keeping its focus on the future. The anniversary date even caught the center off guard.

"It has been fun, it has been exciting, it’s been great," Chamness said. "We’re hearing great things around the community about how much this was needed. But honestly, we’re more concerned with moving forward and doing a good job taking care of our members in the future" than celebrating an anniversary.

And the mission of the Kroc Center, some club owners agree, is benefiting the whole town, as it’s introducing people who otherwise wouldn’t join a gym into the world of fitness and health.

"The Kroc Center has been great for the whole community," Munson agreed. "We’re all glad the people are making choices to get healthy and to get exercise, and live healthy lives. It’s been great for exposing more people to exercise, no matter where they go."

By TOM HASSLINGER
Staff writer, Coeur d’Alene Press