Local // Bay Area & State
24 Hour Fitness is permanently shuttering 100 clubs, including 10 in the Bay Area.
The closures include four clubs in San Francisco, and one each in Alamo, Berkeley, San Jose, Fremont, Milpitas, and Walnut Creek. The San Francisco closures are at: 2145 Market St.; 350 Bay St.; 3800 24th St.; and 3951 Alemany Blvd.
The San Ramon company’s website said members could work out at any reopened location throughout 2020. The permanent closures affect gyms in 10 states besides California.
The company temporarily closed all its 400-plus gyms March 16 and introduced a virtual fitness experience on YouTube.
Some aim to reopen soon: The Super-Sport Gym in Santa Rosa, for example, is slated to reopen June 22, and one in Larkspur says on its website it will reopen June 29. Gyms in San Francisco — those that are not permanently closed, that is — are slated to reopen on Aug. 1, the company’s website says.
The $100 billion fitness industry is particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. People pant as they work out — raising fears of viral transmission in an enclosed space — and many have turned to at-home equipment.
California allowed fitness facilities in some counties, along with swimming pools, movie theaters, hotels and museums, to reopen on Friday, June 12, with guidelines for social distancing and sanitation. Most Bay Area counties, however, are moving more slowly.
“These are painful decisions, and we do not make them lightly,” 24 Hour Fitness CEO Tony Ueber said in a statement. “We thank our dedicated, passionate team members for their contributions and impact they have had on helping to change lives every day through fitness.”
The company did not say how many layoffs would result from the closures.
Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid