Fitness center dives into family recreation

Squeezed between the men's and women's locker rooms at the newly expanded Oquirrh Park Fitness Center is a third dressing facility.

And no, don't call it the coed locker room.Call it the family dressing area - a hallway of small, private rooms where parents can change with their children before and after a day of swimming, tennis or hoops.

The center's family locker room - the first of its kind in Utah - illustrates the expanded center's family friendly attitude, said Oquirrh Park Fitness Center Board of Trustees member Laurie Stringham.

"The fitness park is about total family entertainment and recreation," said Stringham. "There's no reason at any time for parents to be seperated from their kids."

Kids or no kids, Stringham said the expanded center offers something for everyone.

Besides the center's original indoor swimming pool, tennis courts and skating oval, work is almost finished on an additional indoor pool, three outdoor pools, a fully equipped weight room, a pair of aerobic/dance rooms, gymnasium, day-care center, pro shop, several jacuzzis, an outdoor volleyball pit and other fitness amenities.

The new indoor facilities are expected to be opened June 22, with the outdoor pools opening a week later. The expanded center will be dedicated on July 3.

A three-story climbing silo will likely be ready by fall.

The new facilities, which cost about $10.7 million, were designed with families and athletes in mind, Stringham said.

The new indoor pool is actually a family water park - replete with a water slide, interactive water jets and playground equipment and a play area for children.

Outside, the Olympic-competition lap pool is neighbored by an 18-foot multi-level diving pool. A zero-entry children's pool rounds out the outdoor swim campus.

The facility will remain opened to the public. Residents can purchase an annual membership or pay $5 for an unlimited-use day-pass.