Weights down ... forever

Dallas fitness giant makes weighty decision to close 32 gyms amid bankruptcy

Nothing gold can stay.

Gold's Gym/Facebook

When gyms across Texas reopen on May 18, Dallas-based Gold’s Gym International will welcome members back at fewer locations.

Hammered by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Gold's Gym has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and permanently shut down 32 company-owned locations, including three in the Dallas area. In all, the company has permanently closed 11 gyms in Texas.

The Dallas-area locations that Gold’s Gym has shuttered are at:

2425 McKinney Ave., in Uptown
8335 Westchester Dr., Dallas
1001 N. Beckley Ave., DeSoto.

The closures also include three gyms in San Antonio, as well as in Georgetown, Bellmead, Temple, Victoria, and Wichita Falls.

The company says these shutdowns don’t affect any of the franchisee-owned locations of Gold’s Gym.

“We have been working with our landlords to ensure that the remaining company-owned gyms reopen stronger than ever coming out of this pandemic,” Gold’s says in a recent statement.

Across the U.S., Gold’s was forced to temporarily close gyms in response to stay-at-home orders intended to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Then the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to coronavirus-inflicted damage done to the business.

“While the COVID 19-related closures have caused us to reassess the viability of some company-owned locations and make the difficult decision to permanently close about 30 gyms, we know that we will emerge from this stronger and ready to grow,” Adam Zeitsiff, president and CEO of Gold’s Gym since February 2019, said in an April 15 statement posted on the company’s Facebook page.

Gold’s Gym has nearly 700 locations in 29 countries. Dallas billionaire Robert Rowling owns Gold’s, along with the Omni Hotels chain. Rowling’s holding company put Gold’s up for sale in 2018 but took it off the market in tandem with bringing aboard Zeitsiff as president and CEO.

fitness

Fun times in the city

Dallas swings a spot on new list of most fun cities in U.S. for 2024

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Dallas just wants to have fun, according to WalletHub's new ranking of the most fun cities in America in 2024.

The annual report ranked Dallas No. 31 out of 182 U.S. cities.

WalletHub's experts compared each city using 65 metrics to determine their level of "fun." Metrics were split among three main categories: entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and cost.

According to the study's findings, Dallas was 24th nationally in the category for nightlife and parties, and ranked No. 39 in the "entertainment and recreation" category. That may be especially alluring for anyone who wants to explore the city's vast entertainment opportunities (especially during the holiday season), family-friendly recreational activities, top dining destinations, and more. Plus, Dallas is home to entertainment juggernauts like the State Fair of Texas and TopGolf.

Dallas performed poorly in the overall cost category, earning No. 114 out of all 182 cities. However, this category mostly compares flat costs rather than affordability based on local cost of living.

Potential new Dallasites should do their research before deciding to move here, rather than basing their decision on short trips and vacations alone. But we won't blame them for wanting to live in one of the best cities in the world.

"The top cities offer affordable options for year-round fun for their residents, which is good for residents’ wallets and their mental health," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo in the report.

Austin (No. 6) and Houston (No. 9) were the only Texas cities to earn a spot in the top 10 most fun U.S. cities list. Austin moved up one spot from last year, while Houston made a 10-place jump.

Other fun-filled Texas cities that made it in the top 100 are El Paso (No. 53), Fort Worth (No. 55), Plano (No. 78), Arlington (No. 79), and Corpus Christi (No. 99).

The top 10 most fun U.S. cities are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Miami, Florida
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – New Orleans, Louisiana
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 9 – Houston, Texas
No. 10 – New York City, New York

Cities were evaluated based on the number of attractions per capita, nightlife activities per capita, the average prices for eating at a restaurant or buying a movie ticket, and more. Data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, The Trust for Public Land, and the Council for Community and Economic Research, among others.

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