Just days after promoting Mark Fisher to CEO, Sport & Health, McLean, VA, has acquired a Gold’s Gym club in Frederick, MD. The acquisition is part of Sport & Health’s multi-year expansion plan, which calls for extending the company’s network of health and fitness clubs throughout the Washington, DC, metro area.
“This is an exciting first step into the Frederick market, as Sport & Health continues to seek out growth opportunities throughout Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC,” Fisher says, noting that the Gold’s Gym location had a strong membership and employee base. “We see strong continued upside growth in the Frederick market.”
Sport & Health’s growth plans are fueled by recently secured growth capital from Capital One Bank. Sport & Health has used some of that capital to renovate eight of its clubs and to open a new club in Brambleton, VA.
One of those renovated clubs is the 116,000-square-foot Worldgate Sport & Health in Herndon, VA, which recently received a $2.5 million renovation. As part of the renovation, the club received 100 new pieces of cardio equipment with personal viewing screens. The renovation also added natural light from a three-story atrium. The club now has wave-sculpted walls, vaulted ceilings, wide expansive spaces, earth-toned Italian porcelain tile floors and an energetic carpet pattern. The club also now has a suite of four new group fitness studios, including a mind/body studio that integrates feng shui, mood lighting and temperature control conducive to yoga and meditation, and a fully-equipped Pilates studio.
Sport & Health will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday to celebrate the grand re-opening of the Worldgate facility. Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Washington Redskins wide receiver Art Monk will join Fisher at the ceremony.
Sport & Health also recently announced two new locations set to open in December 2011 in Virginia.