Fitness and health clubs have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19, but some help is on the way.
Fitness facilities have not been allowed to fully open under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 reopening plan. Personal training is allowed and only outdoor fitness classes were able to resume in Phase 3 of the governor’s Restore Illinois plan.
State Sen. Michael Hastings said that it doesn’t help owners struggling with existing financial hurdles. He wants the state to set aside $40 million from the Business Interruption Grant Program to help fitness facilities around the state.
“If you ask any of these fitness centers what their overhead is and what their assistance was from their PPE loans, the monthly bleed of money lost is anywhere between $20 to $50 thousand dollars,” Hastings said. “Any money or assistance would definitely be welcomed.”
Hastings said health and fitness clubs are one of the few industries still being held back by restrictions.
“This is the only industry that hasn’t opened like a restaurant or a bar,” he said. “Bars have the booze bill now where you have booze to go. Fitness centers can’t have curbside workouts.”
National chain 24 Hour Fitness filed for bankruptcy after the pandemic forced its facilities to close.
At least one club owner could no longer wait until Phase 4 of the reopening plan. Ryan Blumhorst, the owner of Mt. Vernon Fitness, said the governor is overstepping his bounds.
“He said we needed time to get ready for this health crisis and I gave him six weeks and my business was about to fail, so I opened because he did not have the constitutional authority to tell me to shut my doors,” Blumhorst said.
Blumhorst said he has put safety measures in place, including constant cleaning measures.
On Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced $10 million dollars in grants for fitness clubs, far short of the $40 million that Hastings sought.
There are more than 1,200 health and fitness clubs in Illinois.
