A year after it opened its second Fort Collins location, fitness giant 24 Hour Fitness is considering bankruptcy protection as it seeks a financing package to stay open after the coronavirus pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
24 Hour Fitness has not said if or when it will reopen its Fort Collins gyms even though Larimer County has allowed fitness centers to reopen under strict safety guidelines and capacity limits.
“While this has been a challenging time for many businesses, including 24 Hour Fitness, we have not informed any landlord we will be closing any of our clubs,” the company said in a statement to the Coloradoan. “We look forward to continuing the careful, phased reopening of our clubs as we are operationally ready and when local and state governments and public health agencies indicate it is safe to do so.”
The statement continued: 24 Hour Fitness is “considering a broad range of options to ensure the long-term sustainability and success of 24 Hour Fitness and we are not going to comment publicly on our strategic plans.”
The club closed all its facilities March 16, a year to the day after it opened its second Fort Collins location at 460 S. College Ave., following an $8 million renovation to the former Safeway site. It has 14 years remaining on its 15-year lease.
Building owner Eric Holsapple said he was unsure of the club’s fate. “They are opening some clubs but have not disclosed if or when they plan to open this one. I wish I knew.”
The company also operates a gym at 2208 E. Harmony Road.
All of its clubs shut down in March as coronavirus took hold throughout the country. As it plans for reopening some clubs, it is encouraging members to download and use its 24GO personalized fitness app.
24 Hour Fitness is hardly the only club suffering amid the global crisis. Gold’s Gym filed for bankruptcy and closed dozens of its properties, and the question remains: Will members want to return to the gym with the risk of COVID-19?
Yahoo News reported that several fitness clubs will face bankruptcy as they deal with a $10 billion loss of revenue as people cancel memberships.
24 Hour Fitness drew on a $120 million bank credit line to make it through the crisis, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The national fitness chain transformed the old downtown Safeway building into a 47,000-square-foot “Super Sport Gym” with free weights, treadmills, bikes, stairmasters, an Olympic-size lap pool, a basketball court, a sauna, a steam room, TRX suspension training and more.
Pat Ferrier is a senior reporter covering business, health care and growth issues in Northern Colorado. Contact her at patferrier@coloradoan.com. Please support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a subscription today.
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