Fitness Center Feasibility Study in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area

Hamilton County leads the Indianapolis gym record

Hamilton County, IN carries 66 of the 137 fitness center loans around Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, ahead of Marion County, IN with 36 and Hendricks County, IN and Johnson County, IN with 11 each. That suburban tilt is the first thing a study here should explain. The cell holds $57.3 million for FY2017 to FY2026; Indianapolis stands 22 of 608 nationally, and gyms stand 3 of 39 within Indianapolis; 1.16x is the location quotient.

The median is $254,000, 0.98x the national class median, so loan size is typical. Half the loans lie between $60,000 and $420,000. Of the 137 loans, 131 used SBA 7(a) and 6 used SBA 504. Franchised units are 51.1%, a narrow majority, so brand fees and standards matter. Indianapolis shows at least 13.7% cancelled among FY2017 to FY2024 approvals; the upper bound and the write-off rate are not published, and a blank is never nil.

Lenders

The Huntington National Bank holds 28 SBA 7(a) loans and $9.5 million, the largest book. Old National Bank holds 10 loans and $3.0 million, Merchants Bank of Indiana 8 and $2.4 million, and Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company and Lake City Bank 5 each. SBA 504 offers no lender sizable enough to name. SBA's holder entries behind these names make no claim about how those banks operate. A lender with several gym loans on its books already knows the retention question a new club has to answer.

Approvals ran at 14 loans in FY2017, 16 in FY2018 and 19 loans in FY2021, then 17 in FY2023 and 14 in FY2025 before dropping to 6 loans and $3.2 million in FY2026. FY2020 shows $11.4 million on 14 loans, a dollar total well above its neighbors that deserves a question. Indianapolis counts a loan only when the 2023 delineation can place its project county.

Testing an Indianapolis-area gym

An analysis should size the member pool in Hamilton and Marion Counties, tally the rival clubs, and weigh equipment and floor work against $254,000. Member count, retention and monthly dues must cover the debt payments, and any building bought needs an appraisal. Because brands are about half the book, the review should state whether the project is franchised. Loan Analytics takes Indianapolis projects singly; Daniel Smith, MAI, attaches his credential, though the 137 loans above forecast nothing new.