Three Capital Region cities are announcing a new partnership to bring nine new outdoor fitness courts to the area.
The cities of Schenectady, Albany and Troy are partnering with MVP Health Care, SUNY Schenectady, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Albany County along with the National Fitness Campaign to build the nine new courts, which cost about $175,000 per court.
The courts include pull up bars and places to do crunches, jump boxes and sit ups.
Ellen Sax, MVP's vice president of community engagement says the company is committed to enhancing the health and wellness of communities.
"We always strive to push the boundaries, not to just preserve, but to enhance the health and wellness of the communities we serve," she said. "Because we believe doing so is both a privilege and a responsibility and what better way to reaffirm that commitment than here today with our community partners, pledging free, equitable access to fitness equipment that can change someone's health and wellness journey."
Both colleges will each receive a court, four courts will be located in Troy, one in Orchard Park in Schenectady, one in the South Ferry Street section of the South End Connector in Albany and one will be announced along the Albany County Rail Trail.
Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy says a little bit of diet and exercise can make a large difference in someone’s health.
"If you do some of those little things and diet, a little bit of exercise, you reduce your healthcare costs. You are healthier. The community is healthier," the Democrat said.
Along with the free fitness courts, people can download a free fitness court app, which acts as a coach and instructs people how to best use the fitness equipment on the court.
Deputy Albany County Executive Dan Lynch noted there was an increase in outdoor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I saw a lot of folks who were exercising outdoors and they've changed the way in which they go about health and wellness - and this is a great next step," Lynch said. "Those that cannot afford sometimes expensive gym memberships or those that don't have a level of comfort and maybe some apprehension about going back into a gym because of COVID. This provides them a great opportunity to either stay in shape or get in shape."
The fitness courts are expected to be built and open to the public later this summer.
Troy Mayor Patrick Madden says parks and recreation make cities more economically viable and cause them to be assessed at a higher value.
"Our residents don't just use our parks, but they volunteer to maintain our parks and they come out and they advocate for more resources for the parks," the Democrat said. "So, we know that our parks are an important outlet for our residents. And they and that was driven home over the past two years during the COVID shut down. Parks are more than just green spaces. They're gathering places of places of solitude and gathering places at the same time. They're important to the physical and mental well-being not only of our residents, but our community as a whole."
