Overcrowding at Siegel Center Gym

Overcrowding of people, machines and long lines for equipment are problems plaguing the Stuart C. Siegel Center Gym. The closing of Cary Street Gym for renovations this past year caused a spike in attendance at the Siegel Center Gym.

“It’s like a can of sardines,” said junior Eric Hill. “I can’t get into the gym without waiting for weights. When I try to do some cardio, I have to wait in a line.”

Hill says things used to be different.

“I remember back when we used to have the Cary Street Gym, and I used to go down there all the time. It was more convenient, it was quieter and you didn’t have all these ‘muscle freaks’ trying to take up all the weights.”

When comparing Sept. 30, 2008 to Oct. 2, 2007, a corresponding Tuesday, there has been 60 percent increase of patrons to the Siegel Center Gym (from 919 patrons to 1,499), according to Tom Diehl, the director of recreational sports.

There is an overall 7.27 percent increase of the number of students using VCU’s athletic facilities when compared to corresponding figures for 2007, Diehl said.

“It’s pretty ridiculous,” said Siegel fitness center monitor and political science major Chris Sheehy. “I mean, just look at it in here. Ever since the beginning of the year, we thought maybe it was going to slow down once people slacked off, but any time past 5 p.m. it’s always extremely busy.”

Sheehy also said the facility is inadequate for the amount of students VCU has.

“Supposedly VCU has the most students of any (university) in Virginia and, from what I’ve seen, one of the worst gyms,” Sheehy said.

Sheehy worked at the Siegel Center Gym last year and says while the gym always has been crowded, it has never been this bad.

“It could be getting close to a fire code violation,” Sheehy said.

Not all gym patrons are put off by the increased amount of people.

“It is more crowded, but as soon as I walked in I liked the atmosphere of it, ’cause there’s hardly anyone at the MCV campus,” said occupational therapy graduate student Shannon Sanders. “It gets you motivated.”

Staff members have to remember to be especially careful to ensure its patrons’ safety.

“We didn’t necessarily break fire code, but we came within, like, five or six people of it. I think we did,” said a front-of-house Siegel staff member. The member chose to remain anonymous for job security reasons. “The problem is that we literally count heads, and people were coming in and out. It was ridiculously busy.”

On top of the increased number of patrons, the Siegel Center Gym is even more crowded because VCU has been moving the unused equipment from Cary Street Gym over to the Siegel Center.

According to VCU’s Web site, Cary Street Gym will reopen in the spring of 2010.

“We’ve been telling people to try your best to come in before 4 (p.m.),” Sheehy said. “This morning I came in around 11 (a.m.) and it was perfect. There weren’t that many people.”