Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — A partnership between a local business and an educational institution is working out well for both.

Colorado Mountain College’s Alpine Campus recently bought memberships to Peak Fitness for about 200 faculty members and students who pay an activity fee. The downtown Steamboat Springs gym’s fall business is getting a boost because of the new members.

Brian Hoza, the college’s dean of student services, said about 25 to 30 percent of eligible students signed up for a membership.

“It’s worked really well,” Hoza said. “The convenience is awesome. The students appreciate having a place to go. And we certainly appreciate the business working with us to create a reasonable situation for the college. It’s a win-win for both of us. We would like to see more opportunities like this.”

The reason for the partnership is obvious: The college’s fitness center was located in Monson Hall, which was torn down last spring. While CMC awaits the completion of its 60,000-square-foot administration and classroom building, which will include a state-of-the-art exercise facility, Hoza said the college needed to find a way to provide students that amenity.

Hoza said the college reached an agreement with Peak Fitness to provide a discounted price on individual memberships. Without the discount, he said CMC wouldn’t be able to buy memberships for its students and faculty.

Peak Fitness owner Tara Nultemeier said she’s gotten nothing but positive feedback about the partnership. She said the college students have been respectful of the gym and haven’t made it too busy for her regular members.

Nultemeier didn’t want to provide details about the discount, but she acknowledged that the additional business has helped Peak Fitness. She said all of the equipment recently was upholstered, and she’s considering buying some new accessories for the gym.

“We’re looking forward to doing it again this next semester,” Nultemeier said. “If anything happens at the college, if they’re not finished on time, we’d be totally open to doing it again this summer and next fall, again.”

Full-time student Colleen Treanor, 24, said she works out at Peak Fitness five or six times per week after class.

“I love it,” she said. “I hated going to the old gym at the school. It was too crowded.”

Treanor, a Steamboat native, added that Peak Fitness is bigger than the old CMC gym and has better equipment.

Hoza said that in addition to the membership discount, students also were offered deals on other services, such as personal training.

“We’re always pleased when businesses are willing to support student discounts,” he said. “I think our students respond well to that. It creates exposure and an infusion of business to those entities in town that are comfortable offering student rates or discounts.”

— To reach Jack Weinstein, call 970-871-4203 or email jweinstein@SteamboatToday.com