The Goodyear Recreation Campus (GRC), an 86-acre campus providing residents with a state-of-the-art recreational facility, community park and aquatics center, opened in July 2021.
Before opening, Mike Beadle, the Goodyear Recreation superintendent, advocated for the facility to have a large amount of fitness equipment to serve the needs of a growing community in the City of Goodyear. Below, he shares why his team chose Matrix distributor FitLogistix to outfit the center with equipment and the ongoing benefits they’ve enjoyed since opening the new facility.
Why did you decide to partner with Matrix and FitLogistix — what problem were you looking to solve or what solution were you looking to incorporate?
The City of Goodyear was in process of building a brand new 48,000-square-foot recreation center, aquatics facility and 30-acre park. In the recreation center, there were plans for a fitness area, and I knew we needed a large amount of fitness equipment to serve the needs of the growing community. We began to research what equipment and distributors were in the market and I spoke with several other organizations who utilize FitLogistix’s services and Matrix equipment. Everyone I talked to spoke highly of the quality and service.
Additionally, being an avid fitness user, I toured a number of other facilities with a variety of equipment manufacturers. Ultimately, it really came down to three factors: the quality of the equipment, ease of use for the end-user and the service after the purchase. The Matrix line of cardio and strength is exceptional quality, built to last and has stood up against a facility that sees over 1,000 people per day on average. Ease of use was also a big selling point for me as we are an entry-level fitness facility. We wanted our users to be able to look at a piece of equipment and easily adjust and understand how to use it without assistance from a trainer or staff.
Service after purchase is probably the most important factor in purchasing equipment for us. We have a community with high expectations of quality and service, so having a service provider that can keep and maintain equipment at high-level is a top priority. Matrix and FitLogistix did an outstanding job of showing they could provide excellent equipment that’s easy to use and backed the purchase up with an outstanding ongoing service plan.
What are the benefits to your center as a result of this partnership?
Having Matrix and FitLogistix as partners has provided us a significant number of benefits in the first year of operation of the GRC. FitLogistix worked directly with us to help develop a floorplan for our fitness area, gave advice on layout, equipment selection and quantity to create a fitness area that provided our guests a variety of equipment in a well-designed space. The GRC opened in July 2021 and quickly became one of the busiest municipal recreation centers in the state. We had to quickly add several pieces of Matrix cardio equipment to keep up with demand and because of our existing partnership, we were able to get additional equipment very quickly.
What does your staff enjoy most about utilizing Matrix equipment?
Our staff and users enjoy the ease-of-use of all the equipment recommended by FitLogistix. They consistently provide feedback that they, and users, know exactly how to use the equipment because of the color-coded adjustment pieces and consistent design which makes transitioning between machines easy for users.
Have you been pleasantly surprised by working with FitLogistix in any way?
We have been pleasantly surprised by the additional support and information we receive due to our partnership. FitLogistix consistently provides us opportunities for new/updated equipment that might fit in our facility. FitLogistix is incredibly responsive and has gone above and beyond on several occasions to ensure that our needs in the facility are being met.
Why should other recreation professionals consider partnering with Matrix and FitLogistix?
I have purchased equipment for several recreation centers throughout my career and I have typically based my purchase on three factors:
- Quality of the Equipment
- Ease of Use
- Service after the purchase
Matrix and FitLogistix have done an outstanding job of hitting all three criteria and this has led to a very successful partnership for the City of Goodyear. Other professionals should definitely consider a partnership with Matrix and FitLogistix because you’re not just purchasing equipment and getting left to figure it out after the sale. Their service starts in design, and the support they provide throughout the lifespan of the equipment and partnership is unmatched in the industry.
