looking for iowa town to put in a 24 hr gym (Council Bluffs: high crime, homes)

[capitalcityguy]

My wife and I looked into this very seriously about a year ago and decided not to move forward because we felt the 24/7 market was already getting oversaturated (at least in the DSM Metro). One thing that many here don't seem to realize, is that the full service gyms aren't really your competition. It is reallly the other 24/7 gyms you need to worry about.

If you go to Anytime Fitness website , you'll see someone has already secured the downtown DSM territory and you'll see that the rest of DSM and for that matter any other decent sized city in Iowa. The next big player in this industry is Snap Fitness. They have a new gym on Fleur Dr and they also are doted all through the metro and in most decent sized cities. Add on top of that, there are several other outfits now putting these types of gyms in place too.

I wish you luck, but you're going to need to look at each market and see who's there already and the figure out whether or not you can offer something they don't.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by SharpHawkeye

Do you think the Drake kids would go for a 24hr gym? I didn't know about the gym on Grand Ave. In my experience, Aspens are usually fairly expensive.

I imagine that most Drake students have access to campus facilities, so I doubt many college students would spend the extra money for a 24 hour gym.

I had an Aspen membership for about six months and I didn't really like it. It wasn't that bad or anything, but it didn't have the best clientele. I go to the Southside Y and I like it a lot better than Aspen. Aspen has more gimmicky machines (and thus a more gimmicky machine customer base), but that's about it.

[QuadCityImages]

Originally Posted by skoro

Perhaps the Quad Cities?

It seems like there's been an explosion of new gyms, and specifically 24 hour gyms in the QC this past year. A second 24 hour gym is opening soon in downtown Davenport, so we may be getting a bit saturated.

[metro223]

I agree with everyone - all of the bigger cities in Iowa are saturated with 24 hr gyms. Maybe North Liberty needs one though.

[Twitch26]

some where in henry county would be good, like winfield, we only have some half small building womens place,

[iowamom5]

I live in Fairfield and someone recently put in a 24 hour gym here. You may want to check with them to see how well the 24 hour thing works. It seems to do ok but we are a smaller community.

[brunia]

I have been wanting a gym to go to that is half way close to my home. There is NO gym close to my home and convenient. THe closest gym is the YMCA downtown. While a good facility, it is not convenient for me. By the time I drive there, park, get changed, and drive home, I have easily an hour or more used up. This does not include work out time. I live on the North Central/North East side of Des Moines, and there is nothing in this area what so ever. I don't want to drive to the center of Ankeny, and the nearest club on the West side of Des Moines is on Merle Hay Road. I used to work out at 24 hour fitness when I was working in Oregon, and they were so convenient. Des Moines can certainly use a gym like this on near E14th and Euclid.

[iaborn42]

About one in the Drake area of Des Moines..... this is just me but I wouldn't be out anywhere in that area after dark. I would also be concerned about vandalism in that area after dark. I just don't think it would be the safest area to consider.

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by iaborn42

About one in the Drake area of Des Moines..... this is just me but I wouldn't be out anywhere in that area after dark. I would also be concerned about vandalism in that area after dark. I just don't think it would be the safest area to consider.

Yes...it just you. "Drake area" is to vague as there are plenty of safe places, but yes, there are some bad areas too. It is not fair to lump the "Drake area" into one big stereotype.

[tollfree]

That area has never been known as a safe area. You get a chance to prove your superior DSM knowledge because there was some improvement around there a few years ago, and you feel proud to present that.

You may actually reward crime though, after all, most big cities do have lots of it.