Written by Meghan Goth, LINK nky managing editor
A sign at Esporta Fitness in Bellevue confirmed rumors that have been swirling among members and staff alike for weeks: the gym is closing on March 1 at 10 p.m.
The sign advises members that, “if your membership lists this as your home club, effective immediately your access will be expanded to include all of our Esporta Fitness locations in Kentucky. Your closest club is Crescent Springs.”
Laura Wagner Tinker has been teaching classes at the Bellevue location for four years. She has taught cycle, Pilates and yoga during that time.
“It is very frustrating,” Tinker said. “Many of the members are very disappointed and not sure about where to go next.”
A few weeks before the announcement, Stephanie Patel was coming in to work out and said she wouldn’t be happy if it were confirmed that the club was closing.
“I live right around the corner,” she said. “I hadn’t heard anything yet.”
Michael Jacobs, another member walking in before the closure was made public, said he liked that the club lowered its rate when it was rebranded from LA Fitness to Esporta in 2020. The move was intended to compete with lower-cost gyms like Planet Fitness.
“We live near here and like the rate,” he said.
Michael Windmiller of Windmiller Properties, which owns the building where the Bellevue Esporta is located, said a few weeks before the announcement that he couldn’t confirm whether the Esporta was closing. But he said that if the gym did close, it wouldn’t have anything to do with the high-end steakhouse moving into the top floor of the building on 119 Fairfield Ave.
“We are always disappointed when we lose a business that contributes to the heath of our neighbors,” said Bellevue City Councilman Ryan Salzman.
The Florence location is also closing, along with the Kenwood location on the Ohio side of the River.
The Crescent Springs location, which is where those at Bellevue and Florence are being directed to go once their clubs close, is already seeing an influx in new people.