SBA 7(a) Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Arkansas

Size and standing of the Arkansas fitness center record

The Arkansas fitness center cell holds 57 loans under SBA 7(a), $17.9 million in all, from FY2017 through FY2026. Arkansas is 37 among states by fitness center loan count, while Arkansas holds fitness center at 4 of 39 among its classes. Arkansas borrowers took a median of $223,000, which is 0.91x of the figure that fitness center borrowers elsewhere receive, in Arkansas, close to the SBA 7(a) norm for fitness center. The central half of Arkansas loans starts at $80,000 and, for fitness center, tops out near $475,000; 29.8% of Arkansas fitness center loans carry a franchise flag.

Arkansas holders and counties

By fitness center loans approved in Arkansas, Arvest Bank (15; $3.3 million) come first. SBA lists each Arkansas fitness center holder as current. Geographically, Washington (13), Benton (10), Pulaski (10), Sebastian (7) and Garland (5) lead Arkansas fitness center lending.

How the fitness center pipeline moved

Arkansas fitness center approvals per year: FY2017 9 ($3.2 million), FY2018 4, FY2019 8, FY2020 4, FY2021 3 ($692,600); then for fitness center in Arkansas FY2022 7, FY2023 6, FY2024 5, FY2025 5, FY2026 6. The top Arkansas dollar year, $3.2 million, was FY2017.

How Arkansas loans ended up

Arkansas fitness center cancellations run at a floor of 15.2% for FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, or 15.2% if undisbursed fitness center lending is counted in. Charge-offs of Arkansas fitness center loans are withheld: Arkansas funded too few fitness center loans in Arkansas, so no rate is printed in Arkansas for FY2017 to FY2021, and the fitness center gap is not a zero.

Fitness lending in Arkansas: the study's burden

A fitness center lives or dies on membership, so an Arkansas study must test the catchment: households within a short drive, rival gyms and studios, and the price point the concept needs. Churn matters as much as sign-ups, and the revenue forecast should show how membership builds and decays across seasons. Buildout and equipment cost belong beside a typical ticket near $223,000, and coverage should be shown through a slow opening year. A lender will also ask about lease length, because equipment and improvements have little value if the space is lost.

Arkansas gyms: what the record does not say

SBA attaches no coding caveat to fitness centers, so Arkansas figures read directly. Withheld loss rates, however, mean a lender gets no history on member churn or closures, and the study must fill that gap with local evidence.