31 Jul 2019
The Athletic Club acquires Prairie Life Fitness
BY Tom Walker
Luxury health club operator The Athletic Club has acquired full-service fitness chain Prairie Life.
Prairie Life operates nine health and fitness clubs in four states – Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee – with more than 1,000 employees and approximately 42,000 members.
The first Prairie Life Fitness location opened in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1985 as a full-service club that focused on health and fitness activities for the entire family and for people of all ages and abilities.
Founded by the two original partners, Dean Rasmussen and Bob Kerrey, the 60,000sq ft multi-service facility provided aerobics, indoor and outdoor swimming, weight lifting, indoor jogging, a wide variety of exercise classes, a nursery for small children and multiple youth programmes.
Based on the success of the first club, Rasmussen and Kerrey opened a second facility in 1990 in Omaha, Nebraska. The chain has since grown steadily and the newest Prairie Life opened at Midtown Crossing in Omaha in 2009.
The Prairie Life portfolio will be added to The Athletic Club estate, which consists of seven luxury facilities in three states, with more than 30,000 members.
In a statement, The Athletic Club said it would invest in upgrading the Prairie Life clubs.
"We’ll be investing US$4m in new facility upgrades and fitness programming over the next four to six months," the statement reads.
"The first club for remodeling will be 132nd & Center club. From there, there will be a detailed outline of dates and agendas for the upgrades coming to every club."
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