Coppermine reopens Bel Air Athletic Club, constructing turf fields in Edgewood

Jason Fontelieu, The Aegis, Bel Air, Md.
·2 min read

Jun. 19—The new Bel Air Athletic Club, owned by Maryland sports facility business Coppermine, held its grand reopening earlier this month. The club held a soft opening in mid-May, with a week of free classes and facility tours.

Alex Jacobs, owner of Coppermine, said he'd never seen a community more passionate about their local athletic club.

"This club is truly special," Jacobs said in a Coppermine news release. "I heard so many stories about BAAC being their first job as a lifeguard, or how so many members met their spouses here."

Community members were shocked when it was suddenly announced in January that the club would be closing.

The club, now known as Coppermine Bel Air Athletic Club, is located at the club's original location at 658 Boulton St. in Bel Air.

Jacobs said Coppermine has spent about $2 million on new equipment and upgrades to the 100,000-square-foot facility, such as new paint and updated flooring and lighting. The facility has basketball courts, strength and conditioning equipment, sports performance training, group fitness classes, a Kidzone and an aquatic center with several pools. Nine pickleball courts are planned, according to the club's website.

The open house on June 1 honored longtime BAAC member Marge Purvis, who was instrumental in helping save the club.

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Purvis, 94, was granted a free lifetime membership to the new club, and Coppermine introduced the "Marge Membership," offering free membership to people 94 and older.

Jacobs said that after an initial tour of the club, he wasn't sure if Coppermine had the bandwidth to acquire the Bel Air Athletic Club. But after that tour, he ran into Purvis in the parking lot, who explained to him how much the club had helped her over the years.

"After meeting her ... I said: 'We're definitely going to take over this club now,'" Jacobs told The Aegis.

Jacobs said if he had not spoken with her in the parking lot, the club may not have been saved.

"She was miraculously the one person I can single handedly point to and say that she was the one that saved that club," he said.

Jacobs said the Bel Air Athletic Club is Coppermine's 18th location. The company is also developing a 19th location nearby: outdoor turf fields in Edgewood.

"We typically like to come to a community and bring several opportunities for our members and our community to participate in," he said.