By Pyc Fitness
©2004-2008
Maryland’s growth ranked first among East Coast states and fifth in the country during the 10-year period, according to the San Diego-based Active Marketing Group’s 2007 Health Club Industry Review. Across the country, the number of health clubs increased 91 percent from 1995 to 2005.
“The industry as a whole has really started to solidify, and it’s grown from the mom-and-pop gyms to where you now have big chains with big money entering the market,” said Rick Maffezzoli, who owns the Gold’s Gym in Westminster and has worked in the health club industry for 12 years.
“The Baltimore market is a little behind, but all of the industry players are starting to eye the area,” Maffezzoli said.
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Maryland ranks 10th in the county with about 18 percent of the population belonging to a health club, although Baltimore doesn’t rank among the top 33 U.S. cities reported in the Active Marketing Group review.
But there is definitely a market for new and improved health clubs. Almost 43 million Americans belonged to more than 29,000 health clubs last year, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. The industry has grown steadily since the mid-1990s, totaling $17.6 billion in revenues in 2006.
Gym-seekers have more choices than ever.
The health club industry has grown as diverse as the restaurant industry, said Tim Rhode, owner of the Maryland Athletic Club, which recently opened a $6 million, 54,500-sqaure-foot fitness center in Harbor East.
For about $100 a month, MAC members can work out in an upscale club with five exercise studios, 10,000 square feet of exercise equipment and four pools. At Gold’s Gym, members can get in shape using a broad range of cardio and weight equipment for between $30 and $40 a month. And newer, simpler gyms like Planet Fitness provide members the fitness basics for as low as $10 a month.
“The market ultimately will take care of itself, because we’re dealing with a diverse population,” Rhode said. “We don’t see ourselves as competing. We see ourselves as part of an industry that’s trying to get people off the couch.”
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