Then one day they closed down two of the 12 courts so they could expand their workout room. They added state of the art weight lifting equipment and hoped their existing body building clients would tell their friends and increase business. We weren’t pleased, but at least we had 10 other courts to play on; enough to keep us all playing the full two hours without having to wait turns. Judging by the additional grunts and groans we heard coming from that new area, it seemed their plan worked. But I must admit that over time it seemed like the noise was ceasing and their increased business had waned. In the meantime, we loyal racquetball members continued to show up twice a week, every week, every year, paying our dues and buying supplies, soft drinks, and other miscellaneous purchases.
Then the owners decided to take over 2 more courts to build an aerobics gym with a climbing wall, dance area, and a few other amenities to attract new customers, at the expense of their existing racquetball members. Within a year, this new facility was as vacant as an atomic bomb testing ground. It was hardly ever used. And yes, we loyal racquetball members continued to spend our money at their club, which by the way, was the only club in town. Unfortunately, there were only 8 courts left and it started affecting our playing time since we now had to compete for court time and even started playing doubles (two-on-two) in order to get a chance to play at all.