The parent company of New York Sports Clubs and Lucille Roberts has filed for bankruptcy, citing the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on business, but plans to remain open while it restructures its debt.
Westchester County-based Town Sports International LLC, which also owns five other gym chains nationwide, filed Chapter 11 petitions Monday in Delaware federal court, the company said in a statement on its website. The company, which has more than 200 locations and 600,000 members nationwide, said it isn’t going out of business.
“Town Sports intends to use the Chapter 11 process to engage in further discussions with their landlords and other creditors to successfully restructure their debts to best position the company for long-term success in the current fitness industry environment,” the company said.
The news comes after Gold’s Gym International filed for bankruptcy in May and 24 Hour Fitness followed suit in June. The wave of bankruptcies follows stay-at-home orders intended to curb the spread of COVID-19 but also prompted many gym-goers to start working out at home.
Gyms were particularly hard hit by the pandemic-induced economic crisis. Citing health risks, New York State didn’t allow gyms to reopen until August, well after many regions statewide were in the fourth and final phase of reopening from the shutdown. Some gyms owners sued to be allowed to reopen.
New York Sports has more than 80 locations across the New York Metro area, including 12 on Long Island. Lucille Roberts has 16 locations in the area, including five on LI.
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