LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — The Geneva Lakes YMCA in Lake Geneva is running out of room to serve its growing membership base. It will soon start a fundraiser to build a second gym in Delavan.
CEO Mike Kramp said the Geneva Lakes YMCA now has more than 6,000 members, which is triple the membership from when he took charge of the branch 13 years ago. However, the building itself is squeezed to its limit.
"The needs have changed here dramatically," Kramp said. "We're here for our communities to make sure that we have the proper spaces to serve the people that we serve."
The facility's two basketball courts now host pickleball and a boxing class for people managing Parkinson's disease. Additionally, the courts formerly used for racquetball were renovated into personal training areas.
Carolyn Rosenthal is using one of the former racquetball rooms to build strength with a personal trainer before she undergoes knee replacement surgery.
Watch: Geneva Lakes YMCA CEO discusses future expansion into Delavan as membership numbers soar
"This feels great," Rosenthal said about her personal training sessions. "I'm never sorry that I took time to do it."
John Roesser is retired and said he works out at the Geneva Lakes YMCA five times a week.
"If I don't come here, I'd probably turn into one big marshmallow," Roesser said. "Plus, the doctors love that I come here, so I keep coming here."
Kramp is confident people will come to the new Delavan location when it is built. He said nearly 20 percent of Geneva Lakes YMCA members currently live in or around Delavan and Elkhorn.
"We've been working actively on this for the past year and a half," Kramp said. "That area is a rapidly growing area in our county right now."
Kramp did not reveal the plot of land the Geneva Lakes YMCA is considering or an estimated opening date for the new gym.
In the meantime, the YMCA is planning updates to the current Lake Geneva location. Kramp said the area with the workout machines will be updated as soon as this August.
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