Squash players push back on gym’s plan to close courts – Fortbendstar.com

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When New Territory resident Farzad Azizi was looking to buy a home in Sugar Land, one of the deciding factors was its proximity to the local Life Time Fitness because of its squash court.

“I bought my house because of the location of this court,” Azizi said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t even be in this neighborhood. But that’s how important it is to me and my family.”

Squash, a ball-and-racket game typically played on a glass-encased court with wood flooring, has been growing in popularity in Fort Bend County in recent years, in part spurred by the rush of immigrants into the county.

But the sport’s local popularity could be in danger if Life Time Fitness (LTF), 1331 State Highway 6, follows through on its plans to close its squash courts during upcoming renovations – the only such courts in all of Fort Bend County.

If those courts are removed, the drive to the nearest squash court would go from being mere minutes away to about 15 miles from the Sugar Land gym, according to those who frequent the upscale gym and health club.

Representatives for the gym, which has locations across the region, said the renovations are meant to invest in more children’s programming in Sugar Land, and that they plan to make one of their Houston locations a hub for squash.

“I will have to drive 25 miles away just to get to a squash court,” Sugar Land resident Shashank Khandavalli said. “If I have to do that multiple times a week, what’s the reason for me to keep my membership?” 

Khandavalli said squash is a “sport for all ages” and that LTF members who play the sport range from grade school-children to seniors.

Squash players take turns serving the ball so that it strikes the wall above the line and lands clear of the service line on the floor. The rubber ball (which weighs less than an ounce and bounces very low and slow, unlike racquetball or tennis) must be returned before it bounces twice, or the serving player is awarded a point.

There are more than 1.6 million players in the U.S. and 20 million globally, according to U.S. Squash, the sport’s national governing body. And there are about 3.5 million U.S. racquetball players and about 20 million around the world, according to Sports Travel Magazine.

Andre Maur, who founded the website globalsquash.com and is one of the sport’s most decorated professionals, lives in Atlanta and runs the squash program at the city’s LTF locations. He said he frequently hosted LTF-branded tournaments in the Houston area.

“There’s a big squash following there and the reason behind that is because there’s a big Pakistani and Egyptian population, and squash is their national sport,” Maur said. “(Houston) is one of the biggest (squash hubs) in America. So, they’re very passionate about it.”

Rahul Gandhi, a Sugar Land resident and an LTF member for the last four years, said squash is an important outlet for people around the globe, adding that the sport has grown because of the recent arrivals of immigrants to Fort Bend County, like architect Obinna Ilochonwu.

“(Squash) reflects the cultural diversity of Sugar Land,” Ilochonwu said. If you take that away, I guarantee you most of these (squash and racquetball players) are leaving.

“We get the money aspect. But corporations have a societal and cultural responsibility to the areas they serve.”

Sugar Land resident Malik Merchant is the chief spokesperson for a group of more than 60 members who signed a letter to the gym’s general manager on Dec. 10, announcing they would cancel their memberships if the squash courts were closed.

Merchant said the general manager told him in December the squash and racquetball courts will be closed by March to make way for renovations, the same fate that met the courts at the company’s Katy facility years earlier.

“If this goes away, this is the only sport my son and I play together,” Merchant said.

The general manager did not respond to an email or a phone call from The Star seeking a comment for this story.

While Merchant and other residents said they understand LTF is a private business and is free to make changes to its facilities as it sees fit, they also said that the company has some obligation to listen to the community. Merchant said many of his fellow members, who pay more than $129 per month in membership fees, are also willing to maintain the courts themselves and pay additional fees to keep the courts in place.

“If you think about 100 people paying potentially $5 a month to play squash, that’s about a good 25 hours a week,” Merchant said. “That’s a lot of money, about $150,000 per year.”

Maur said LTF could stand to lose about $100,000 if the group of Sugar Land squash players cancel their memberships. But he said LTF might view cycling classes or other programs as a more profitable way to utilize the space the courts occupy.

“Like any business owner, they want the return on investment,” Maur said. “It always hurts when the squash court shuts down, but there’s a reason behind it from a corporate perspective. But (the potential losses from the membership dues) is a substantial amount of money that they do not want to lose, especially nowadays.”

Bunker Hill, a Sugar Land resident since 1997, said he grew up playing racquetball and hopes LTF will recognize that he and others view racquetball and squash as major assets to the community.

“Cutting off racquetball and squash is just cutting off another opportunity for kids to learn a new different type of sport,” Hill said. “For my own selfish reasons, of course, I like to play and it’s nice having it handy. But for the future, it would be great to expose kids to these sports.”

“While we are making changes at Life Time Sugar Land to accommodate member demand in areas including our growing Kids Academy programming, we continue investing in our local squash programming,” Daniel DeBaun, a spokesperson for Life Time Fitness wrote in an email to The Star.

DeBaun said the company will be placing an emphasis on squash in Houston at its Memorial City location within the retail development called CityCentre, featuring five additional squash courts (for a total of nine at the club), including one all-glass court with stadium seating available for events.

The project will be completed in the coming months, DeBaun said.

DeBaun also said Amr Abdelmaksoud will be leading the squash program at the CityCentre location. Abdelmaksoud has coached numerous top-10 ranking adult and junior players around the world and in Houston, DeBaun said.

“He and his team will be visiting with our members at Sugar Land who utilize the squash courts in the coming weeks,” DeBaun wrote. “Life Time will remain a top local destination for squash in Houston.”

DeBaun declined a request to interview Abdelmaksoud, writing that it would be “premature” and that the club would continue to communicate with its members directly.

Gandhi said the club has been quiet about its renovation plans.

The Sugar Land gym had already completed $5 million in renovations in 2021, and plans to install new basketball court flooring and new cycle studios among other upgrades, according to a sign inside the facility.

In the interim, Merchant and Sugar Land resident Nasir Walji attended a public input open house last Wednesday at city hall for residents to express their concerns and provide feedback on the T.E. Harman Center, a public recreational facility managed by the city, as well as what improvements and additions they’d like to see there.

There is also the potential for some economic losses to the neighborhoods surrounding the fitness center if its squash-playing members go elsewhere to play.

“If we go out to eat after, we’re going to go to a business that’s near wherever we play,” Walji said.

But any addition to the senior center or another city facility would be a long-term solution, with no set timeline or plans.

“There are no plans to develop additional City of Sugar Land indoor recreational facilities in the foreseeable future,” city spokesperson Doug Adolph said. “We have a number of ways for citizens to provide input into future CIP projects — including our Citizen Satisfaction Survey and CIP request portal on our website — but nothing more immediate is included in the currently approved five-year CIP program.”

Fort Bend County Judge KP George told The Star that the county has held talks about building some outdoor courts, but didn’t respond to follow-up questions about those discussions.

“We already talked about building some outdoor courts,” George wrote in a text message, “but like to hear from people supporting it.”

Source: https://www.fortbendstar.com/sports/squash-players-push-back-on-gyms-plan-to-close-courts/article_93bf5f28-82b9-11ec-82ff-371fd7d96bbc.html