University of Arizona - Recreation Center

The changes being made are clearly from faculty who don't lift weights. Most recent changes are new plates replacing perfectly clean/fine plates. The new ones are cheap, don't have rubber coating, have sharp edges that can cut you, and lack large enough holes for grip. There are far to many ellipticals. This space could be used for specialized equipment like a belt squat, jammer, squat rack, etc. Things that need replacing don't yet we get new weight racks that are bulky and not improving the experience of the gym. People do whatever they want in the squat racks, preventing you from using them. The hours need to change. The gym closes for every holiday even uncommon ones. Often closed during football games and random employee training days. Overall a month is removed from your membership without you knowing. Parking is pretty horrible. You either pay for special parking with a an expensive semester pass or pay road parking if you're lucky enough to find it. Most of the surroundings lacks shade so when it's over 100 your car will just bake. The neighborhood is shotty too so don't leave things in your car. Overall the gym is pleasant on the eyes and has the basics. The management is clueless in charge of equipment is clueless. The gym is over packed most of the year so equipment is hard to come by. People constantly break the "rules" and nothing is enforced. It's closed too often and the list goes on.

Disclaimer-Non UofA student review-I toured the rec center when I was visiting campus with a younger sibling, so I can't vouch for how it is during the semester. However, I do attend a Power 5 school in the Midwest and the this rec offers far more amenities and equipment than my campus rec center does. It was also clean and modern, but had some renovations going on in the student entrance when we were there. A lot of the feedback other student reviewers have (ie too many cardio machines and not enough weights) is very similar to my complaints about our rec center. Apparently there's now a rec center in the honors dorms (at UofA), so that might alleviate some of the foot traffic. I'd say though if I showed my university friends this rec center and asked them which one they'd prefer, almost all would pick Arizona's. That's my two cents! -RCJH

So much room. The vibe at the reception center you can't beat it. They have pretty much everything active.

Great wheelchair basketball game but what about the blatant sexism? The men get to play in the main court but the women’s has to play in the Rec?! How is that fair and balanced ?! Shame on you for this

The U of A Rec Center is a nice setup for NYS volleyball games. Note that you always need to check if it is a game day for football or not. If so, parking is a nightmare. There are two hour spaces around the center on the street, but no one seems to follow that on game days.