As of July 1st, Los Angeles-based Hangar 18 has taken over the operation of Thresh Hold climbing gym in east Riverside, California, an hour east of downtown LA. The purchase of Thresh Hold brings Hangar 18 up to seven climbing facilities in southern California (they have an eighth location in San Clemente, CA slated to open later this year).
Hangar already operates a climbing gym in the west part of Riverside, and this acquisition some pressure will be taken off of this very busy facility. Zach Shields, Owner of Hangar 18, which also owns Climb-It holds, told CBJ in an email interview, “It is a definite win-win for both locations.”
Shields said that bringing in the new location would benefit members at both facilities. “I thought it would be a good addition to the Hangar 18 family,” he said. “The current members at the Riverside location will gain access to another gym nearby and the Thresh Hold members will have a lower monthly membership rate and will have access to all of the other gyms.”
Doug Dickens, General Manager and Co-Owner of Thresh Hold, told CBJ that they decided to sell Thresh Hold because of differences between the company’s investors. “The goal [when Thresh Hold first opened] was to open multiple facilities in Southern California in order to capture the market and create a business that would last,” he said. “As the company grew we realized that the expectations of the owner/operators and the expectations of the owners/investors were not in line. After looking at multiple options to help align the goals of all parties involved, it became apparent that the best course of action was to part ways and sell the company.”
The two Riverside facilities are separated by a mere 9 miles and have been in competition with each other since they both opened in 2008. Hangar 18 will take over all assets of Thresh Hold which includes 8,000 square feet of climbing surface, yoga room, fitness center and 30 ft tall rope walls. According to Dickens the sale of Thresh Hold was an asset purchase agreement. “Since Hangar 18 did not need the brand or operations the deal consisted of what was inside the facility, i.e. climbing walls, holds, fitness equipment as well as the membership agreements and data base,” said Dickens. Currently there are no plans to change the current staff.
Asked whether Hangar 18 plans to make any improvements to the new location, Shields said, “I have only been there once and I am sure we will make some changes to make it as nice as we can.”
Extended Family
Hangar 18 has a history of buying local climbing facilities. In 2012 Hangar bought Beach City Rock Gym in Hawthorne, CA and The Rock Gym in Long Beach, CA.; the following year they bought TruHold in Mission Viejo.
With this acquisition Hangar 18 becomes the gym developer with the 2nd most climbing locations in the US, nipping at the heels of San Francisco-based Touchstone Climbing, which currently has nine locations in California. However, they are ranked 6th by the measure of total climbing surface with 64,400 sq. ft. of climbing (Touchstone has 117,260 total sq. ft.).
As for Dickens, he plans to continue to work in the industry. He has created Beyond the Wall Consulting, which will focus on business operations and employee management. “My goal is to help climbing gym owners create a better business with strategic planning, employee management, and clear expectations and goals for their company,” Dickens said.
Climbing Business Journal is an independent news outlet dedicated to covering the indoor climbing industry. Here you will find the latest coverage of climbing industry news, gym developments, industry best practices, risk management, climbing competitions, youth coaching and routesetting. Have an article idea? CBJ loves to hear from readers like you!
