Fitness Center Feasibility Study in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area

Buffalo gyms: small median, strong rank

On fitness center loans the area ranking puts Buffalo and Cheektowaga at 49 of 608, and the class list puts fitness center at 4 of 39 inside Buffalo and Cheektowaga. The location quotient of 1.15x lifts the class a little over in Buffalo its national weight. The files carry 53 loans for $11.5 million, nearly all of them in Erie County. In Buffalo and Cheektowaga the fitness center median, $100,000, is 0.39x of the countrywide figure; usual loans run $30,000 to $283,000. The median sits at 0.39x of the national class figure, well under half.

SBA 7(a) accounts for 48 of the Buffalo and Cheektowaga fitness center loans, SBA 504 for 5. Franchise ties show on 22.6%. Erie County has 48 loans and Niagara County 5. Empire State Certified Development Corporation holds all 5 of the 504 loans, for $3.0 million. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company holds 16 7(a) loans for $2.9 million and Northwest Bank (PA) holds 7 for $1.3 million. The names above are the current holders SBA lists, with no claim about Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company’s criteria.

No cancellation rate and no charge-off floor is printed for the Buffalo and Cheektowaga fitness center record, as the loans behind them are few; a blank is not zero. Printed fiscal years for Buffalo and Cheektowaga: 5 loans and $135,200 in FY2018, 5 and $1.3 million in FY2021, 5 and $564,000 in FY2022, 6 and $450,200 in FY2023, and 11 and $2.9 million in FY2024.

What a Buffalo gym study tests

A study across Buffalo should test membership demand across the seasons, competition from large chains and community centers, lease terms, equipment, and whether a small loan fits the build-out. It should show a year-by-year path for dues and retention, name the neighborhood the site serves, and check that debt service holds if growth is slower than the owner hopes. A loan counts for Buffalo and Cheektowaga when its project county falls in the July 2023 metro map; loans with unplaceable counties drop out. At 53 loans for $11.5 million, the record is small, so a study should lean on its own site evidence more than on the file.