SBA 7(a) Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Idaho

Ada County and a franchise-heavy mix

Ada County holds 55 of the 102 fitness center loans approved under 7(a) in Idaho between FY2017 and FY2026, far ahead of Kootenai with 16, Canyon with 8 and Bonneville with 7. Total approvals reach $32.0 million. Fitness ranks 4 of 39 in Idaho, a high position, while Idaho stands 30 among states for the class. Franchise affiliation is common: 43.1% of loans. The median loan is $167,000, only 0.68x of the nationwide figure, and half the loans range from $50,000 to $357,500.

Holders

Zions Bancorporation, National Association leads with 15 loans and $2.7 million, followed closely by The Huntington National Bank with 14 loans and $3.0 million. Washington Trust Bank holds 8 loans worth $4.6 million, Glacier Bank 6 worth $2.6 million, and Idaho First Bank 5 worth $1.2 million. The list shows who SBA records as the holder and conveys nothing about how any institution approaches fitness borrowers.

Outcome floors

Through FY2024, cancellation after approval took at least 8.1% of approvals, and the stricter ceiling is 12.2%. Of 42 loans funded in the opening years, the share written off so far is at least 4.8% yet the five-year rate stays at 0.00%, so the loss arrived late, and it reminds readers that a clean early window can hide later trouble.

Tests for an Idaho gym

A gym analysis must justify membership counts against a fixed cost structure. Lending is concentrated in Ada County, so a site there faces the most competition and the largest pool of members; a site in Kootenai or a smaller county has a thinner base, which the study should test with population within a drive time. Revenue assumptions should rest on a membership price, an attrition rate and a ramp that reaches break-even, with a conservative case beside it. Proceeds go mostly to equipment, tenant improvements and lease commitments. Where the concept is franchised, royalties and mandatory remodels should be in the budget, and the loan sizes here, below the national median, mean a borrower asking for much more should explain why. Debt service coverage must survive a slow first year, because a membership business needs months of marketing before the base builds. The study should also show how many members the lease and payroll require before the loan payment is covered, and whether the site can reach that number.