A press release earlier this week announced that Movement, the largest network of climbing gyms in the United States, recently acquired The Cliffs’ five facilities. The acquisition encompasses all The Cliffs’ gyms in New York and Pennsylvania and brings the total number of open Movement gyms to 29 across the country.
“We are thrilled to bring The Cliffs outstanding gyms, dedicated team members, and passionate climbing community on board,” Jeremy Levitt, Movement’s CEO, stated in the press release. “Together, we can introduce even more people to the best climbing walls, routes, and amenities in the indoor climbing industry today.”
Mike Wolfert, CEO of The Cliffs, added, “I’m stoked for the next phase of The Cliffs’ evolution. The resources Movement will bring to take these gyms to the next level is the future of climbing. Movement’s expertise will provide immediate benefit to the New York and Philadelphia climbing communities—and give our climbers access to a nationwide network of gyms at no additional cost.”
Specific facilities included in the acquisition were The Cliffs’ mixed climbing gyms in Gowanus (Brooklyn), LIC (Queens), Valhalla (north of New York City) and Callowhill (Philadelphia), as well as a bouldering-focused facility in Harlem (Manhattan). The Movement website indicated that, “Starting December 11th, all The Cliffs members will have access to all Movement gyms and all Movement members will have access to all The Cliffs gyms,” the latter of which will soon be rebranded as Movement gyms.
At a broad level, the acquisition of The Cliffs facilities put something of a punctuation mark on a very busy year for Movement, which saw the brand also acquire (and rebrand) multiple Summit gyms in Texas. Although global statistics are difficult to confirm, the recent acquisition of The Cliffs gyms likely makes Movement the largest climbing gym operator in the world by measure of gym quantity. Moreover, two additional Movement gyms are currently in development.
News of the acquisition—and Movement’s growth throughout the year—naturally prompted discussion by owners of other gym brands. For example, one post by an anonymous user on the Climbing Gym Operators Facebook group page asked, “Anyone else feel like Movement is consuming the industry?”
Stay tuned to CBJ for further updates and breaking news about climbing gym acquisitions.
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!
