Mountainside Fitness, a health club chain in Arizona, has partnered with PNC Mezzanine Capital, a division of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. The new partnership will provide Mountainside Fitness with growth capital of up to $40 million. As a result, Mountainside expects to add 1,500 to 2,000 new jobs in Arizona and nationwide.
Concerning the partnership, Mountainside Fitness president and founder Tom Hatten said, “We felt we were primed and ready to go. We’ve been in the business for 23, 24 years now, and it just made sense. It’s nice to have a partner.”
Currently, Mountainside boasts 10 locations in the metro area of Phoenix. Three additional clubs are under construction in Arrowhead, Desert Ridge and Queen Creek. In light of PNC’s backing, Hatten said the company plans to look at other areas in which to expand, such as in the Southeast.
“We’ve proven that we can hang very strongly with all of our national competitors,” said Hatten. “We feel we’re nimble enough to move with the market and the trends, and not just compete, but lead.”
The last major milestone for Mountainside Fitness occurred in December 2012 with the opening of Mountainside Fitness Platinum at Chase Field, one of the first clubs to reside inside a major league baseball stadium. The 13,000-square-foot project cost the company $1.6 million.
Despite the major investment, Hatten said the payoff has been great. “We’re ahead of our projections to open by about 20 percent,” he said. “We’re very happy about that.”
Hatten hinted at even more exciting things to come for the company in the midst of Chase Field’s success and the partnership with PNC Mezzanine Capital.
“We want to let the world know we’re excited,” said Hatten.
By Rachel Zabonick
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
Haven’t seen or heard anything else about building a gym anytime soon