Connell Fitness Center now open
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
January 15, 2026
By: Katherine Trowbridge
Connell, once again, has a fitness center. The 24 hour Connell Fitness opened in November under the ownership of Fernando and Elizabeth Ontiveros. The Ontiveros also own centers in Othello (Diamond Hands Boxing and Her Iron Paradise - a women’s only fitness center), Warden, and Ritzville.
Since they took over the lease in Connell, the couple has been bringing in new equipment and working on upgrades to the facilities. Fernando shared their future plans are to upgrade all the equipment and fix up the building, both inside and out.
“Our goal is to make the gym a pillar in the community with affordable access for adults and a safe place to channel energy,” he said, “I hope it helps people to change their lives by being fit and healthy.”
He went on to share that they took on the fitness center because they saw a need in the community. “A lot of people reached out to us. We decided to make an investment in the community so they could have a place where they could become fit and strong.”
The center offers cardio, weight training, free weights, exercise machines, and boxing bags. While it is open to come and go 24/7, you will need a registration appointment to become a member and have access.
Members will have access to all the gyms, not just Connell.
They are currently working on creating videos to assist clients with ways to use the equipment, especially for those new to fitness. These will be accessible online.
While the gym does not allow youth of any age, the Ontiveros will also be opening a boxing club/youth program to provide mentorship for area youth ages 12 to 18. The boxing club, which is set to open on Wednesdays coming this spring, will be there to teach and to train with both training and competitive boxing. They are looking forward to building an amateur boxing program. As Ontiveros shared, “Because there are a lot of youth that don’t really have an outlet to go to.” He spoke of kids roaming and not having anything to do…”the goal is to have them here.”
His ultimate goal is to build these boxing programs for the youth and, of course, for the adults to have their fitness. Longer term, five year plan, is to also include group classes/training on the fitness side.
Just since November, the Ontiveros have brought in 40 clients for the 24 hr Connell Fitness.
The fitness center offers military and senior citizen discounts as well as reimbursement to employees of McCains and other companies. Senior/Military rate is $25/month and regular rates are $40/month. To find out more contact Fernando at (509) 771-3946.
Comments