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27 Jul 2010 US Army opens its largest fitness facility BY Tom Walker |
The US Army has created its largest ever fitness facility, at the Fort Bliss army base in El Paso, Texas. The 8,920sq m (96,000sq ft) Joshua W Soto Physical Fitness Facility has been named after a solider who died in combat in Iraq last year. It offers a 930sq m (10,000sq ft) weights room, a 210-station CV area, and a group cycling studio with space for 60 bikes. There's also an indoor running track, a combat room, two basketball courts and a fitness assessment room, plus conference facilities and a 186sq m (2,000sq ft) recreation space with pool tables, gaming equipment and computers for soldiers to use. The new facility is just one of a number of projects undertaken at Fort Bliss to accommodate increased troop levels, which have more than doubled over the last five years; the army is reported to have spent about US$1bn (£666m) on construction there last year alone. Base Realignment and Closure also provided US$2m (£1.3m) in funding. Close Window |