OVERLAND PARK, KS -- Despite some hope for the economy in recent months, clubs are still shutting down around the country. Two casualties are clubs owned by Bally Total Fitness and Peak Fitness, both of which are involved in bankruptcy proceedings.
A Peak Fitness in Winston-Salem, NC, closed the weekend of Aug 23. David Buzo, a public relations director for Peak Fitness told the Winston-Salem Journal that the landlord for the Peak Fitness location was given permission to evict Peak Fitness from the site.
“Despite our desire to continue operations at this location, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating with the landlord,” Buzo told the newspaper.
Members will be allowed to go to a nearby Gold’s Gym that has about 1,100 members. The owner of the Gold’s Gym expects to gain between 500 and 2,000 Peak Fitness members, the newspaper reported. Fitness Management Group Inc., parent company of Charlotte-based Peak Fitness, filed for bankruptcy on July 10.
The Bally club in Vancouver, WA, is expected to close Sept. 5 as part of the Chicago-based company’s reorganization process, Bally spokesperson Larry Larsen told The Columbian. Members are being offered upgrades worth about $250 that will allow them to join any Bally nationwide, Larsen told the newspaper. A bankruptcy judge recently approved Bally’s reorganization plan.
Two other clubs in Washington state recently closed. The Lacey Athletic Club in Lacey, WA, and the West Side Athletic Club in Olympia, WA, have shut down, according to The Olympian. The owner of the Lacey club told customers in a note posted on the front door that the club was going to file for bankruptcy, but the newspaper reported it found no bankruptcy filings. The West Side club has now become Fit Stop 24, a 24-hour key-card club, according to the newspaper.
Increased competition from LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness likely led to the closings of the clubs, a local marketing and sales manager told the newspaper.