The eagerly awaited Recreation and Wellness Center opened its doors to students after the Center’s grand opening on Sept. 14.

The large scale of the facility is causing some students to be overwhelmed by everything available. The Center contains a 49-foot climbing wall, mental health services such as the stress free zone and three consecutive floors of gym equipment.  

Students are impressed by the numerous amenities available in the new Recreation and Wellness Center, while the complex layout of the building created confusion among gym-goers.

Lauren Jewell, a senior in the early childhood education program, said she was surprised when she found out the Center had so many floors. The new Center holds nine floors worth of a variety of physical and mental health services for students to utilize.

“I thought it was just going to be one floor of a gym, not multiple floors, which is really cool,” Jewell said.

The variety of amenities across the building appeals to many students, including Alyssa Valdivia, a first-year English major. Valdivia said she likes the new Center because it provides for a wide range of activities beyond fitness.

“There is so much to offer. It’s not just working out,” Valdivia said. “You can come here to study, there’s a relaxation room where you take off your shoes and there’s even a gaming room. It’s just very cool.”

Kaiya Herb, a fifth-year pharmacy student, said she liked that students could loan out different sports gear at the front desk in order to use on the variety of courts available.

“I appreciate that when we walked in, there was stuff you could rent,” Herb said. “If you don’t have your own equipment, there are things like badminton, pickleball, tennis balls.”

The bottom floor and some walls throughout the Center are still under construction. Half of the first floor, which is meant to contain three new Pitt dining options, is cordoned off from student access. Hannah Luzcak, a junior elementary education major, said she is frustrated by the continued construction.

“I’m a junior, so [the Center] has been under construction for at least two of my years,” Luzcak said. “How long can it take? What else are you doing? I just don’t understand.”

Nathaniel Girmay, a junior biology major, also appreciated the variety of sports courts and equipment.

“The pickleball courts are definitely a plus,” Girmay said. “One thing I don’t like — everything is too spaced apart vertically, but there are so many nice services that they provide here that I guess it’s fine.”

Some students find the size of the building to be overwhelming. Luzcak said most of the floors look similar, so finding machines is difficult.

“I wish there was one floor that was all treadmills and then just have [the floors] specified to what [muscle group] you’re working,” Luzcak said. “It’s kind of confusing going up and down floors to figure out what machine you want to use.”

Calla Fiscus, a junior nursing major, said she was also confused about the layout of the Center.

“I didn’t even know there were nine floors. It’s odd,” Fiscus said. “I barely know how to exit. I feel like my workout is ten times longer than it should be because I’m searching for where to go.”

Another facility amenity is the three-story climbing wall that sits in the center of the building. Adam Regal, a first-year engineering major who has climbing experience, said he was “mostly” impressed by the new climbing wall.

“It’s hard to fit a decent wall in such a small space just because of all the stuff,” Regal said. “But it was clean and well-managed. So that was good.”

Jessica Eller, a senior public health major and seasoned climber, was very impressed with the Center’s climbing wall, particularly in comparison to the only other wall that was previously available on campus in Trees Hall.

“It’s perfect. It’s the tallest wall I’ve ever climbed,” Eller said. “Comparing it to the wall at Trees is like comparing rags to riches.”

Rachel Kam, a junior nursing major, said she feels the Center is overwhelming because it’s new, and hopes the crowds will get better as time goes on.

“I think maybe once everything settles down and everyone knows what they’re doing — and it gets further into the semester — it will be better,” Kam said.