| IHRSA Report | Success by Association
Kings Court’s Champion IHRSA has served this club for three decades and
three generations By Jon Feld
T
hirty years ago, when IHRSA was just getting started, the Turco family began planning the Kings Court Health and Racquetball Club, in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Two years’ worth of construction later, the 65,000-square-foot club opened its doors. Even then, the Turcos were ahead of their time. “Originally, Kings Court was slated to be a tennis-only facility,” recalls co-owner Jerry Turco. “We changed the concept after observing how big racquetball was becoming on the West Coast, and we went all in. We felt there was tremendous potential for growth, that racquetball was the future of fitness.” At the time, Kings Court had 28 courts, the majority of which were devoted to racquetball. “In our area,” Turco notes, “we were the industry.” The new facility attracted members and players from a fairly wide radius, of about 5–10 miles, and quickly saw membership climb to about 4,000. While racquet sports were undeniably a major draw, the Turcos, understanding that trends may prove fleeting, were prescient enough to devote about 15% of their space to aerobics and cardiovascular and strength training equipment.
To remain on top of industry developments and help them refine and grow their business, the Turcos also joined IHRSA: they’ve been members, now, for nearly 28 years.
“We try to support industry organizations, especially ones like IHRSA, which has kept us close to what other operators are doing throughout the country,” says Turco. “As far as we’re concerned, IHRSA has always been the Blue Book of the industry, informing us about changes in the business and up-and-coming trends.”
Ensuring the present
Within five years of opening, Kings Court was wit- nessing, and participating in, significant changes in the industry. Racquetball remained strong—in fact, the club hosted the 1985-86 state racquetball championships. “We were one of the largest clubs on the East Coast and one of the few that was able to accommodate big state tournaments,” explains Turco. “We actually had seating for 300 tournament fans.”
But, at the same time, while people were also joining the club for its swimming pool, exercise classes, and other amenities, dedicated fitness facilities began to pose serious competition. The Turcos realized that, to meet the evolving needs of a changing demographic, flexibility and innovation were once more required.
“We reduced our racquetball component from
28 to 3 courts,” says Turco, “and, over time, we added basketball, volleyball, an indoor running track, a whole new cardio department, free weights, weight training, group-cycling, boxing, tanning, and a café—just to name a few things. We even had a 65' cabin cruiser parked in our backyard for functions and parties on the Passaic River.”
Often, for ideas and guidance, the Turcos found themselves turning to CBI for its coverage of opera- tional issues, and to IHRSA’s conventions and trade shows for the educational and networking opportu- nities they provide. “As the industry has grown, become more sophisticated and diverse,” observes Turco, “our association with IHRSA has come to mean more and more to us.”’
Within another 10 years, though, the competitive situation had changed again, and Kings Court found it was getting a run for its money from the big-box clubs. “Smaller clubs couldn’t compete,” he observes, “but we were able to weather the shift because of our size and the scope of our amenities. We were still the only club in the area that had everything under one roof.”
Securing the future
Kings Court is well- equipped for success
96 Club Business Internat ional | DECEMBER 2011 |
ihrsa.org
Today, Kings Court is as diverse, as manifestly multipurpose, as a club might conceivably be. Classes, equipment, services, and dedicated club
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