DETROIT, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons and Blink Fitness today announced plans to build a publicly-accessible Blink Fitness franchise inside the state-of-the-art Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center. The New Center facility will be the first Blink Fitness location in Detroit and one of several planned Blink Fitness openings slated in Michigan during 2019. Blink Fitness, a premium-quality value-based gym, announced in February that it will open 15 or more locations throughout Michigan.

Pistons owner Tom Gores said Blink’s inaugural Detroit franchise will make New Center even more attractive to prospective employers and residents, and is another example of how the Pistons Performance Center is helping spur economic development.

“We are proud to partner with Blink in opening its first location in the City of Detroit,” said Mr. Gores. “Blink’s presence inside our performance center will make New Center an even more appealing place to live and work, and in turn will create more jobs and continue to help drive the momentum of additional investment in the area.”

Blink joins Plum Market, which is opening a café and retail store on site as the Michigan-based grocer’s first venture in Detroit. The Pistons organization is working directly with Detroit-area native and Blink franchisee, Tom Shumaker, who will serve as the owner-operator of the new Blink Fitness franchise inside the Pistons’ facility.

In addition to the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center location, Shumaker announced in February that he will partner with Michigan native Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors to bring at least 20 Blink Fitness gyms to Michigan and Illinois. Shumaker and Green have been actively evaluating Detroit and its surrounding suburbs, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and parts of the Chicagoland region. Green is not a franchisee partner for the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center location.

Launched in 2011, Blink offers a truly unique experience to its members, based on a company philosophy of Mood Above Muscle™, which celebrates the positive feelings you get from exercise rather than just the physical benefits. This new location will deliver Blink’s signature Feel Good Experience® which comes to life in each gym through a commitment to providing modern and colorful design, elevated customer service, relentless focus on cleanliness, energizing music and confidence-boosting training programs.

“When I began evaluating the Blink investment opportunity, Detroit immediately came to mind as a natural market in which to begin. There was a noticeable absence of truly affordable, high-quality fitness options,” Shumaker noted. “To be able to deliver this alongside community-focused partners like the Pistons, Henry Ford, and Plum/Zingerman’s is a truly special opportunity. I am so excited to be part of this project and to be contributing to economic growth and job creation in the region.”

These goals align directly with the Detroit Pistons’ vision to bring business and basketball together in a space that allows for community access and impact.

“We are focused on connecting our team to the community and we want our practice facility and team headquarters to be a destination that is inviting to the public,” said Arn Tellem, Vice Chairman for the Detroit Pistons. “Blink is democratizing premium fitness by making it accessible which aligns perfectly with our vision for this world-class development – a hub for fitness, health and basketball programming that engages and provides opportunity for everyone in the local community.”

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About Blink Fitness

Founded in 2011, Blink Fitness is a premium quality, value-based fitness brand with more than 90 locations open or in development throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California. Blink Fitness puts Mood Above Muscle™ which celebrates the positive feeling you get from exercise, not just the physical benefits, making it one of the fastest growing gyms in the country landing on the Inc. 5,000 list for 2 consecutive years. Each gym employs the company’s signature Feel Good Experience® that highlights enthusiastic staff members, a clean environment, an open, spacious, and colorful design, energizing music and fitness training that is motivating and affordable.

For more information about Blink, visit blinkfitness.com. Franchising details are available on blinkfranchising.com. Blink Fitness has franchise opportunities available nationwide with a focus on the following markets: Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Albuquerque, Louisville, St. Louis, Kansas City and cities throughout North and South Carolina.

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Click here to take a drone tour of a Blink Fitness gym.

About Detroit Pistons:

Since their arrival in 1957, the Detroit Pistons have become one of the most storied franchises in the NBA. With over 2,300 regular-season and playoff victories, the club has celebrated three NBA Championships (1989, 1990, 2004), five NBA Finals appearances (1988, 1989, 1990, 2004, 2005) and 11 Eastern Conference Finals appearances. The club made its return to Detroit in 2017, playing games at the new state-of-the-art Little Caesars Arena. The new Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center located in the New Center area will serve as the organization’s practice facility and corporate headquarters and is slated to open during the summer of 2019. Since its purchase by Michigan native Tom Gores in 2011, the organization has focused on operating as a community asset while promoting a culture of innovation and industry-leading thought.