What was formerly known as Durango Sports Club is undergoing major renovations under a new name. Durango Fitness Club opened for business on Nov. 1 at 1600 Florida Road, replacing the longtime fitness facility with a mission to upgrade the existing infrastructure.

New owner Cameron Winters is dedicated to making the club more modern by upgrading amenities and workout facilities. Winters plans to renovate the pool area, add a pickleball court on the lawn west of the building and add personal office spaces for people who work remotely.

“One of the big trends nowadays is to work from home, but now you can also work from the club,” Winters said.

In addition, he will add a coffee shop where the child care room was to the left of the front desk as well as massage rooms upstairs. The renovations will cost between $500,000 and $1 million.

Winters also will extend the fencing in the pool area to allow soaking tubs to be built around the pool “similar to the Durango Hot Springs.” He said the pool is a major attraction for the club, and he wants to make the outdoor area more luxurious.

Winters is a real estate investor and a contractor by trade. He purchased the Durango Sports Club building on Nov. 1 and took over the business after the previous Durango Sports Club owner left for personal reasons. It is important to Winters that Durango Fitness Club keep the Durango Sports Club’s culture. He said the only difference will be that he owns the building, giving him the ability to make renovations to the facility.

He said his ownership was met with skepticism from some longtime members. Winters said he heard there were rumors he planned to tear down the club but says that was never part of his plan.

“It's not just a gym to them. They come here, they socialize, they hang out, they do all that stuff, and so they were thinking this place was going away,” he said.

Concerns about changes led Winters to keep the club’s name similar.

“Rates are the same, everything’s the same, and your life doesn’t change,” Winters said. “We’re going to just update things and make it better so they’re more happy.”

Winters isn’t concerned about Durango’s workout facility market. He said Durango Fitness Club offers a wide variety of fitness options that should make the club favorable for new members.

The club has registered 800 members since it officially started Nov. 1. Winters said Durango Sports Club had about 1,000 members before the business changed. He hopes to triple those numbers during the next six months.

Winters plans other renovations to the club. He’s considering adding second-floor workout spaces over the racquetball courts and making the racquetball courts available to club members. San Juan Circus, a building tenant, will be moving one unit over to allow the club to reopen its racquetball court that was preoccupied by the aerial sports center.

Winters also plans to update the locker rooms to give them full-size lockers and individual showers. Other new additions include a check-in system where members can scan in using an app on their phone. The app also allows members to schedule personal workout sessions with trainers and exercise classes.

He said that despite the early skepticism, the Durango Sports Club community has accepted him like family and approves of the direction he is going with Durango Fitness Club. Winters hopes to have the club renovations completed by this summer, but there is a strong emphasis on getting the pool area renovated for the summer.

“Will it be a viable business? Only time will tell. But I’m not gonna just act like it might be, I will make it viable,” Winters said.

tbrown@durangoherald.com