UFC Gym Hawaii warns it could shut down permanently if ordered to close again

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    O’ahu, HI (KITV) — If one of O’ahu’s biggest and busiest gym chains is forced to close again, it could be permanent.

One of the managers at the UFC Gym tells KITV4 bills for the Kaka’ako location alone are about $100,000 per month and it operates four facilities on the the island.

He says checks are signed whether they are open or not.

All-American University of Hawaii Men’s Volleyball player Colton Cowells says he was eager to ditch the home workouts and return to the weight room when Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell gave the green light for gyms to reopen on June 5th.

“For us gyms shutting down was a real test for us. Body weight training is fantastic but there’s a certain level where athletic performance is very much improved by the capability of being able to access a gym,” Cowells said.

Cowell is one of 30,000 UFC Gym members in Hawaii, but talks about fitness places possibly having to close down again due to rising cases of COVID-19 has management worried.

“Obviously every time we close again and continue to not have a revenue stream coming in, it impacts us not just for one month but for several months to recoup that,” Regional Director of UFC Gym Hawaii Mike Kelleher said.

Health officials are worried gyms could be easy places where the virus can spread.

UFC Gym has had to turn members away because of capacity limits brought on by the pandemic, but they are willing to do whatever it takes to stay open.

“We know how critical it is for people to stay healthy and continue to workout so we would love to be part of the discussion to make sure our voices are heard to represent the people we employ and the people that workout in our gym,” Kelleher said.

Since reopening in early June, UFC Gym reports about 15% of its members did not return.

Some of the staff at UFC tell KITV4 if anyone tested positive for COVID-19 the Kaka’ako location would be closed for deep cleaning, and every employee would be tested.

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