PAC crosses town, turns gold by REBECCA KIMITCH, The Beacon Thursday, April 26, 2001 / Business As the date that the Peninsula Athletic Club (PAC) must vacate its current facillities approaches, managers announced last week that they have found a new home. The PAC will be relocated to Glasshouse Square on Sports Arena Boulevard and Rosecrans Street, near the In-N-Out. Along with the new facilities, the PAC will acquire a new name -- Gold's Gym -- thus joining a network of more than 500 clubs worldwide. However, the name and location are the only things about the PAC that will change, president Jim Evans said. "We are still the same people that we have always been, and everything is going to be exactly the same except the name," he said. "We will continue with the same programs." These programs include fitness and cardiovascular training, aerobics, indoor rowing, powercycling, massage therapy, chiropractic and acupuncture services, yoga, tai chi, and more. In addition, the new facilities will include childcare, new locker rooms, a large parking structure and two indoor swimming pools, one for lap swimming and another specially heated for children's swim lessons, physical therapy, and deep-water execrise classes. However, the new PAC will not include basketball, tennis, or racquetball courts, all of which are part of the club's current facilities. The move is coming after the athletic club was asked to vacate its present facilities on the former Naval Training Center (NTC) because the area will be closed to public access during demolition and reconstruction as it is redeveloped into Liberty Station. Since they received the eviction notice last fall, Evans and his staff have been working towards a compromise with NTC redevelopers, Corky McMillian Cos., that would allow the club to remain open during construction. Although the efforts have been unsuccessful so far, Evans has not abandoned the struggle. "Our best plan overall would be to have both locations in operation," Evans said. As it stands, the PAC on NTC is scheduled to close on June 30. Construction to renovate the new facilities should be complete by July 1. The new club will occupy the former United Artists Theater complex and a formed Chinese restaurant in Glasshouse Square. One of the theaters in the complex will not be demolished in the renovation. Instead, a stage will be built and dressing rooms added, transforming the space into a community theater available for live theater and musical productions, corporate meetings, community events, and other large gatherings. "This is with our whole philosophy that we had at NTC of really reaching out to the community," Evans said. "With the Strand in Ocean Beach closed down permanently, there really isn't anything on the Peninsula to accommodate large groups." Despite the move and the new name, the cost of membership at the club will not change, Evans said. In addition, the franchise name will allow members to use Gold's Gym throughout the world. The decision to rename the PAC was made at the request of the new owners of the Glasshouse Square. which had used Gold's as an anchor tenant in other shopping centers, Evans said. "A lot of people associate Gold's with one thing, but it has evolved with the industry over the years," Evans said, referring to the stereotypical image of bulky body builders that the Gold's name might inspire. "We have purchased the Gold's franchise, they haven't purchased us." In an attempt to further retain its original identity, if the facilities on NTC are closed, the entire of collections of historical NTC photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia will be relocated to the new facility.

I saw this new my parents house in Los Angeles. A fitness gym for children. I was appalled. I am even more appalled that it is a fast growing franchise.