[Rocketfan]

Plans to bring a private health club to Lynchburg are moving forward with investors settling on a Lakeside Drive location for the new facility.

ACAC Fitness & Wellness Center, a regional group with outlets in Charlottesville and Richmond, intends to open its first Lynchburg site near the corner of Lakeside Drive and the Jefferson Ridge Parkway. Its partner in the project is Lynchburg resident and former University of Virginia basketball star Curtis Staples, who’s been working to establish his own fitness center for nearly three years.

Staples, who’s run a summer sports camp for children for more than 10 years, originally envisioned the project as a kids-only program, but quickly expanded that idea as his plans took shape. He initially planned to run the center on his own and had at one point settled on a Campbell County location. After partnering with ACAC, however, it was decided a more central spot was needed, he said.

http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... ws!archive

[4everfsu]

Are there no fitness centers in Lynchburg? Or am I reading this incorrectly?

[LUconn]

There's a Gold's I think. Or at least there used to be. We're not too fit around these parts.

[bigsmooth]

this should do well. since courtside closed back in the day the Y is really the best option in lynchburg and i think that gold's that LUconn referenced is still open. ACAC is a quality operation and if's anything like their centers in richmond in charlottesville im sure it will go well.

[Hold My Own]

Not good...this goes for my hopes of opening one up in the next 3 years...I contacted 24 hour fitness about 2 months ago



And yes...Lynchburg is begging for another club...people are sick of the long lines and crowded space at the Y and Golds is for meat heads

[Sly Fox]

24 Hour Fitness centers can be set up in just a couple of months and are much more competitive pricewise, HMO. I wouldn't give up on anything.

We have about 10-12 different fitness centers within a mile or so of my house. They are cash cows right now and one of the hottest franchise sectors going. Do you guys have LA Fitness or Lifetime Fitness on the East Coast yet? The higher end clubs are booming and creating a big market for economy clubs.

All that said, I use the Family Life Center at my church for practically nothing with fantastic facilities.

[Hold My Own]

24 hour fitness interests me because they offer racquetball....Lynchburg area clubs dropped the ball and refused to help out the area players thinking it's a dying sport. We had the money raised for half the courts in the new Y and showed them a business model where the other half would pay for itself in a matter of 4-5 years. I have a group of about 100 players ready to switch clubs if the right situation presents itself


If this opens I'll be interested to see what it does to the area market...at some point I'm sure I'll be involved in a fitness center, I'm just not sold that Lynchburg is ready for 2 new clubs...I'm thinking we'd be 5 years away from being able to offer another, although the name of 24 hour fitness helps b/c it's recognizable


As far as the other clubs you mentioned we do not have any of those


EDIT: I looked at the info i received I contacted both LA and 24 and I'm interested in LA due to Racquetball

[Sly Fox]

We have two racquetball courts at our church that Mrs. Sly and I use 3-4 times a week.

I'm guessing the franchise fees and startup costs for LA Fitness would be much higher than 24 Hour Fitness. The latter offers a range of clubs.

[Hold My Own]

If we had racquetball courts at TRBC I'd be the next John the Baptist

[Sly Fox]

Forgive me for asking, but it is not like north campus is hurting for space. Why not?

[Hold My Own]

JJ had that in the plans at one time but really space is maxed out there...maybe a purchase of the mall would be useful


Theres an outside chance LU will see them....$$$ really isnt the problem b/c I can find the money for the courts (there are a lot of RB players that want to see Lynchburg get better facilities), if only someone is willing to give up some space.

[flamesbball84]

where is jefferson ridge parkway??

[bigsmooth]

the road where the lynchpin industrial park is. sheetz on the corner. LA is in virginia, but in NOVA.

[ALUmnus]

Why doesn't someone convince the city or county to build some outdoor racquetball courts at one of the parks? We had them up in Connecticut, where the year-round weather isn't exactly rosie. Sure, they're a magnet for vandalism, but they work and they'd get plenty of use.

[Cider Jim]

where is jefferson ridge parkway??

Is that the new park with the public fishing lake? If so, is it opened yet?

[Hold My Own]

I contacted Curtis Staples, it appears that the other clubs already opened under this group has had racquetball

[ATrain]

The Sports Racket, off Wiggington Rd., has about 5 Racketball courts: 4 rubberized, 1 wooden

[TIMSCAR20]

The Sports Racket, off Wiggington Rd., has about 5 Racketball courts: 4 rubberized, 1 wooden

Wiggington Rd is where Stately Scarborough Manor used to be about a mile and a half from that raquetball club. We have American Family Fitness in Richmond and it is 24 hours. But they close at 10 on Friday (found that out the hard way) and again on Saturday nights. They are building a giant new one in the short pump mall and will close our facility which is just outside Short Pump mall. I think it opens in May.

[Hold My Own]

The Sports Racket, off Wiggington Rd., has about 5 Racketball courts: 4 rubberized, 1 wooden

Those courts are a joke, I rather hit against a brick building then play there...they really should just tear them down...I had about 60 names on a petition from that club alone saying they'd leave if a club was to open up

[bigsmooth]

agreed HMO....they need to make al those courts wood. rubberized courts suck.