Matt Ross Community Center

I have been a member for 3 years. I will not be renewing. To many old men not wiping off exercise equipment when done. I am tired of asking staff to monitor this. No one seems to care!

They do have some nice options for family activities, it is clean, and the staff is friendly. But, the fitness room is VERY crowded at peak times, more so than other gyms/​community centers I’ve belonged to. I feel like they could extend their tot drop hours a little more in the evenings and offer early morning hours for working parents who need help with the kids to get a workout in. I’ve also been turned away from the tot drop because they are full. If they have that high of a level of membership, they need to add some more equipment and options to keep up with the demand. Also, the variety of equipment in the weight room could be improved.

GOOD
*Reasonable price for a family with a membership.
*Insanely good price for an Overland Park family with a membership.
*Nice place to run indoors when the weather stinks.
*Surprisingly liberal hours for a community rec center.
*Great kiddie pool facilities complete with a lazy river thingamajig.
*Seemingly vigilant lifeguards always near the pool.
*Clean, nice locker rooms with better-​than-​most-​gym showers.
*Decent assortment of weight machines – more than most beginners would need.
*Quick check-​in/​check-​out.
*Clean towels.
*Hot tub!
*Courteous staff.
BAD
*Don’t go assuming you’ll be able to hop right in the lap pool. Often in use.
*Occasionally, the hot tub is out of commission, causing me to weep profusely.
*I think the Wifi is lousy, but maybe it’s just my phone.
OVERALL
The 1 & 2 star reviews are from people who should re-​calibrate their expectations for a community center. This is not a high-​end gym, and they’re not trying to be one. Yes, there will be crazy kids in the fun pool and seniors walking in the lap pool. No, you can’t be 100% sure the cardio machine of your choice will be readily available. If you assess it based on what it actually ***is***, it’s a five-​star community center.

Matt Ross is the best community center for kids and adults. I love the pool and slide. But basketball court is where I dominate at. I go work out Like every day when I’m not balling.

We’ve belonged here since it opened in 2007. It’s still very new looking, everything’s very nice. I love the weight room and the kids used the pool a lot when they were younger.

Would rather give 0 stars. Do not go here!
I went to check the place out, had to pay $ 7 to get in. I went to swim laps. Turns out there are only 4 laps, which were filled 2 people a piece with people waiting (basically old people walking in the lanes).
I decided then to ride a spin bike. The 3 they had were all filled.
I asked politely for a refund because I couldn’t do any of the things I came in to do, and because I have a job I have to be at, I couldn’t really wait around. I guess they are used to people coming in that are retired or don’t have jobs, because it just shocked them I could not come in later during the day (apparently the outrageous fee of $ 7 covers the whole day).
$ 7 I won’t see again, that’s 3.5% of my daily pay. Hope you guys enjoy stealing my money.

We like to support community recreational facilities, but had a second disappointing experience at Matt Ross. We have had yearly family passes to other Overland Park pools in the system. Overall we have had great experiences there — thus each year we get another pass. Because Young and Tomahawk outdoor pools are closed for the season, we thought we would swim at Matt Ross. Had we come yesterday, Labor Day, we wouldn’t have had to pay. Today it was $ 7.00 for each — one adult and one child. Now… I understand cutoff dates… but listen to the biggest ripoff… One of the adults in our party came fully clothed and wanted to watch. She was told that she could watch from the upstairs window, but to sit in the empty chairs near the pool it would be a $ 7.00 charge! So this is their way to try and make money… keep you away from your family or you have to pay $ 7 EACH to sit in a different chair just one floor down. There were about 10 people at the pool at the time and plenty of chairs. If the pool personnel thinks this shows any type of family atmosphere or shows any appreciation to a loyal Overland Park pool pass holder, you are wrong. Our grandmother has watched at the outdoor pools without charge as it should be. Makes no sense to charge someone the same price to not swim! I could maybe see a small admission charge — but $ 7 — the same price as a swimmer and this time of year? This crazy charge at Matt Ross this time of year is the most absurd rule I have ever heard! Administration must have too much time on ther hands to come up with such quackery.
I agree with the other posters that this is an average pool. It is very clean and good for little kids and seniors, but not much for the rest of the population. The outdoor pools have much more to offer for everyone. Our middle schooler seemed bored. It is very shallow and there are no diving boards. It wasn’t worth the admission for our families’ swimmers and definitely not worth the $ 7.00 charge for one person to watch near the pool where family can talk to you rather than sitting on the second floor away from where everyone else is.
By the way, this charge is not mentioned on their website anywhere. So… if you go there… beware…you never know what additional charges they will surprise you with! Matt Ross doesn’t understand that the community is their customers and needs to get with the program! If this isntheir way to make money… they lost more than $ 7 because of this stupidity. We won’t be back and would be glad to share our story with others.

I joined MR after being with 24 HR for a few years, then working out with groups and outdoors for a few years. I have a few friends who love MR, and I love living in downtown OP, so that was the main consideration with joining MR. The thing holding me back was the $ 4 per class drop-​in fee. However, since I play on a competitive travel roller derby team, I don’t have a lot of spare time for classes, so that was fine. I might go to 2 classes per month. It’s nice to always have access to the pool, however I usually just use the workout machines. I am planning on starting weights again in August, but just cardio now. It’s relaxing and relieves stress to come in and listen to an audiobook or watch Anderson Cooper or The Chew while doing my workouts, instead of doing chores or sitting on the couch. Some of the treadmills also have solitaire, so that’s kind of fun. My boyfriend’s mom is in impeccable shape after taking their pilates classes, so I guess I’ll try a few out soon. I want these new jeans and could stand to lose 1 – 2 inches in the waist. She had to get a whole new wardrobe since retiring. This is the real deal!!! Overall I feel I should dress a little more modestly than at roller derby since there is a big variety of people, but it’s also motivating seeing all types of people being healthy. I am happy!

We recently joined the Matt Ross CC. We absolutely love it here. It is huge, it is beautiful, it is well maintained, and it is close to the house. They have indoor pools, a lazy river, an aquatic treadmill, 2 full court basketball courts, free weights, nautilus equipment, a great array of lifecycle machines, mens locker room, womens locker room, family locker room, tons of fitness classes, big screen TVs in the fitness room, open WiFi, a fireplace room, a billiard/​video game/​vending room, and tons of banquet and meeting rooms. They have great planning facilities from kid’s birthday parties all the way to an executive business meeting.
A one year membership for a family is $ 500 or $ 46 a month. If I have access to the indoor pool for that price, why can’t I have access to the outdoor pools in OP as well? Seems exorbitant that I have to pay an extra membership to enjoy the outdoor pools during the summer. The only other thing that kept me from ranking it 5 stars was no racquetball courts. Other than that, they have everything you could possibly need and they take great care of their facility and equipment.
I especially enjoy the finger print sign in device. That way I can lock my wallet in my car and not have to worry about whipping out a membership card. Great place!!!

I love Matt Ross Community Center.
First, I’ve had memberships at Golds, Snap, and 24 Hour Fitness. I’ve regretted all of those but I’ve not regretted the Matt Ross membership.
The rates are really quite fair. It is true that a membership does not get you classes. However, if you comparison shop, the prices are comparable to the local YMCAs and any other center that offers a gym and group exercise.
The facility is very clean and I think the equipment is well-​kept. I work out 5 days a week using a combination of free weights, cardio, and circuit equipment. Rarely is anything out of service and even if it is, it is repaired within a few days.
While it’s true that the pool is often overrun with families, there are designated times for lap swim.
A family membership is only $ 43 a month. So, even if you’re just a couple that is 21.50/person. That’s a great deal! And if you’re a family, well the cost/​person just goes down with each additional member.
Great place and great staff.

My husband and I were members for a year and I decided not to write this review until I tried out another fitness center to compare it.
First, if you’re a couple and not a «senior couple» you have to pay the family rate. Seems a bit silly that my husband and I would pay the same as a family of four, but ok. Also, in addition to the $ 500 a year to maintain our membership, if we want to take any classes, it’s an additional $ 33 bucks per month each. Ouch. So if you crunch the numbers, that’s over $ 100/​month for both of us.
Now that might seem reasonable if the facilities were top notch, but they’re not. The pool is constantly overrun with children and even the area where one could supposedly do laps is impossible to swim in because there are so many teenagers just hanging out. The circuit equipment is sparse and is not well-​maintained. My husband and I attempted on multiple occasions to get someone to do something about the broken back extension machine but finally gave up. When you look inside the mechanism of the circuit machines, there is a lot of build up because they’re not properly cleaned. Since we were on a budget, we didn’t pay extra for classes, so most of our use of the facility was limited to the walking track, the exercise bikes and the circuit machines and it was frustrating when they were so poorly maintained that we felt we could be injured.
I really would have liked to support our local community center on an ongoing basis, but it’s outside of our budget, particularly since we were not able to make full use of the facilities on an ongoing basis, nor could we afford to pay additional charges for classes.
We are currently members of another gym that is nearby. It is much larger and it is much better maintained. The monthly fees are inclusive of exercise classes which encourages us to make good use of the opportunity. I’ll write a review on our new gym after I’ve had a bit more time to appropriately evaluate it, but so far, it makes me wonder why we ever wasted our money on Matt Ross.
And now for you families… Matt Ross is probably a GREAT place for you. I have seen families there in droves enjoying the pool and running wild through the locker rooms. I see this as the future of this facility as singles and couples without children probably have different goals and the facility seems to be very well suited to families, but maybe not the rest of us.

I enjoy Matt Ross. It has all the essentials for a daily workout including a lap pool. It has a leisure pool, gymnasium and child care if needed as well. I had first started working out at this gym on a regular basis about a year ago and decided I would move on to a larger gym as I progressed with weight training. Signed up for a membership at Lifetime fitness and liked it but their were so many people, it became a distraction. The weights were never put back and very unorganized which became very annoying to hunt down weights or various handle bars to finish daily exercise. All things I took for granted at Matt Ross. Matt Ross is closer, Less expensive assuming you live within the area: $ 7 day pass, $ 22 Week pass, $ 99 for 3 months pass and I can not remember how much the one year pass is. Compared to $ 66/​month at Lifetime fitness, not including sign up fee ($ 99). Best of all its organized. Just because its smaller, doesn’t make it inferior. Now that I’m back to my regular routine at Matt Ross Community Center, It just feels right…

Okay, so when you think of a community center, you probably think kids and old people, right? And you’d be right here. Community centers are always going to cater to those demos — and well that they should — kids and seniors are important parts of our society.
What’s cool about Matt Ross is that you have a 5-​lane Olympic length swimming pool in addition to the mega pool with kids slides and toys. You also have a great workout area, an indoor track, basketball courts, and large rooms you can rent for meetings.
The center is kept generally very clean and I’m pretty proud to be an Overland Park resident with access to something like this that is the same price or cheaper than the 24 Hour Fitness 5 blocks away and has way more parking (and does not have the temptation of a lovely Dunkin Donuts in the parking lot, damnit :-)

I really do love the Matt Ross Community Center. The classes are wonderful, the locker rooms are always very clean, the pools are huge and also very clean and they provide towels to members… BUT. the therapy pool drives me a bit crazy. If this is a part of your consideration to join this gym, it’s a great option but it’s frustrating too. Sometimes the jets don’t work which makes it difficult to get the sort of workout I am looking for. If you are looking for more «walking and stretching» than «running» in the pool, this might not bother you.
The water aerobics are really good. If you are looking for a more relaxed class, take the instructor VJ. If you like a real workout (like I do) go for Rebecca or Carol. They are great!
The class options are many; light, medium or intense workouts. I love that all the teachers are so nice and give you all the variations. They all seem to be well trained and love what they do. I also appreciate that they watch form. Bad form can get someone into trouble pretty fast. I’m currently loving the TRX (total-​body resistance exercise.).
All the machines are clean and well maintained. The building itself is beautiful and also very well maintained.
When it comes to cancelations or changes in schedule, they have a system that can text/​email you, but you must sign up for the service. It’s well worth it in the winter though. There’s nothing like driving through the snow to find a cancelled class.
All in all. Matt Ross is still a good deal for what you get. Great actually.

Can’t really speak much on the aquatics and weight room, but the gym’s decent, clean and spacious.
I just wish it was not $ 7 just to get in and shoot hoops for two hours. Since the wonderful city of Olathe is gracious enough to neglect having a community center, Matt Ross is the only other one in the area that works for everyone. The gym is rather small but the hoops are maintained and replaced when they are worn.
Nothing more annoying than trying to shoot a basketball through ripped hoops.
But again, at $ 7 a pop, i’m sure they have plenty of cash to keep replacing them. .. ..

I love Matt Ross Community Center. This community center is impeccably clean yet unpretentious. From the locker rooms to the actual equipment, this place is one of the cleanest gyms I have ever worked out in. I have been a member of MR for a year or two, and I can tell you, people actually come here to work out, not just to be seen in their matching workout gear. In fact, some people who work out at MR may just show up in khaki shorts and a t-​shirt, and STILL get their workout on. This facility has free weights, weight machines, a rowing machine, some bikes, and a row of about 14 each treadmills and ellipticals. There is also a lap pool, kid pool area, slides, and a lazy river (and child care!). A variety of classes are taught downstairs in the fitness studios, classes are not included in the membership, however, they are very reasonably priced. Speaking of price, this place is very affordable. If you are a resident of OP, I think it’s around $ 300 or so a year.
There is also a basketball court and a walking/​jogging track. If you are just beginning your quest for better health, you don’t need to be intimidated by coming to this gym. The clientele is of a mixed demographic, but there are a lot of senior aged people, and a wide variety of fitness ability levels represented at MR. In this respect, it is the anti Lifetime Fitness. The people who workout at MR are there to break a sweat and reach their fitness goals, not to look pretty and be seen.
If you are considering a membership and can hold off until Black Friday (Nov. 26,) memberships are apparently 30% off according to their website.

This review is for those wondering whether they should rent one of the conference rooms for a private function at this community center. I hosted a birthday party in the «Hearth Room» and it was a wonderful event. The staff was helpful and accommodating. They worked with me with all my little requests and didn’t mind that I was a little frazled and maybe a tad over-​stressed the day of the event (planning food displays, children’s entertainment, decorations, etc…) All in all, it was a wonderful experience and all my guests had a great time. I think I even got the center some business because I saw some guests stopping by the information desk to inquire about renting spaces for their events!
One last note: Children of my guests were welcome to play in the Explorer Room which is ideal for ages 3 — 9. It’s what’s even better is that it’s free. There has to be an adult supervising, so that’s something to keep in mind. All the kids had a great time.

Matt Ross is kind of a random find for me, but I’m really glad we stumbled upon it.
I’m currently in a month-​long class membership that only cost $ 30. 30 freaking dollars! This gets you access to all their awesome classes, which have been amazing (and ass-​kicking). I’ve been going 2 – 3 times a week to take yoga, pilates and spin class.
(Note: Spin class is deadly. You will burn 400+ calories but it is a KILLER. I hate it and I love it. And I’m sore right now.)
There are also weekly/​monthly/​yearly memberships to the whole center, which includes a huge gym, track and pool area with slides that would make me love life if I was still a kid. But honestly, I’ve found I work out so much better and harder if I’m in one of the class settings. The $ 30/​month and $ ⁷⁵⁄₃ months are, again, an awesome deal.
I’m currently contemplating joining in on their 5:45 a.m. pilates class. I am also a lunatic.