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

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.