News that the building currently housing Excel Gymnastics is listed for sale has sparked a grass-roots effort led by a group hoping to purchase the space and secure the future of the recreational outlet.

“Currently the building is for sale, and so if Excel Gymnastics wants to stay open and operating, then we would either need a new space, or for this space to be purchased,” said Riley Lanquar, gymnastics coach for Excel Gymnastics. “Unfortunately, there’s not really another space in Steamboat Springs that could be purchased that could house a gymnastics gym.”

Excel owner Mike Smith confirmed Monday that the building, which includes 11,200 square feet of gym space and an additional 2,100 square feet of office, studio and bathroom space, is for sale at $2.6 million. He said his current lease runs through June 2028.

In addition to gymnastics, the space is also home to several other businesses including Steamboat Springs Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Spirit Wind Aerial Arts, the Music Together program and the office of Katherine Gibbs, a psychologist.

Excel Gymnastics, which has been operating since 2007, offers 25 classes and eight open gyms each week. Smith also opens the doors to several preschools and daycare providers — including the Boys and Girls Club, Discovery Learning Center, Hayden Totally Kids, North Routt Community Charter Schools and several home daycares.

Excel Gymnastics has been a part of Smith’s life for more than two decades. He began teaching classes for “Mr. Dan,” Dan Atkins, who started, owned and operated a small gymnastics business out of the George P. Sauer Human Services Center in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Atkins elected to close that business in 2007, after the school district asked him to move out of the Eighth Street building because they needed it for classes as the elementary school just up the street was torn down and rebuilt.

Atkins’ decision allowed Smith to step in to create Excel Gymnastics to meet the needs of the community. After spending a couple of years in a commercial space in Riverside Plaza, the business eventually landed at its current location at 1955 Bridge Lane, where Smith has operated under three different landlords for 20-plus years.

The recent news has parents concerned about what will happen if a new owner steps into the picture and wants to use the space for a different type of business, or raise the rent to a point that it would no longer be possible to use the space as a gym — a place where children can stay active, burn off excess energy and, if they chose, pursue gymnastics. They say the sale of the building creates an uncertain future.

“I couldn’t imagine not having it, to be honest,” said Marco McClees, whose 6-year-old son Chase and 2-year-old daughter Emma both take part in programs at Excel.

What matters in your community, delivered right to your inbox.

Sign up at SteamboatPilot.com/newsletters

“I think one of the things I’ve got concerns with about the future of Excel is it’s one of the few places that has a very large indoor space for kids, especially in the wintertime. When they’re not outdoors skiing, trekking through the snow or sledding, this is one of the few places to go — there’s nothing else like it in Steamboat Springs, especially when the weather’s bad,” he added.

Ira Delilovic-Boomgarden is one of the parents behind the effort to raise the funds needed to purchase the building and make sure that Excel Gymnastics will continue.

“I’ve been working with a group of families to find a way to secure the Excel Gymnastics building to ensure it remains an indoor recreational space for the community,” Delilovic-Boomgarden said. “We’ve been in discussions with Yampa Valley Community Foundation and several local nonprofits to identify a solution and source of funding. While we’re making progress, it’s clear we’ll need an angel investor, community support through donations, or a partnership with another nonprofit to make this work.”

Delilovic-Boomgarden said the group is in the early stages of setting up the fundraising drive and invites the community to reach out to ExcelGymnasticsUSGA@gmail.com with questions, solutions or donations.

Lanquar believes that the gym plays an important role in community. She said even if your child doesn’t have dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast, or only visits the gym with their daycare of after-school programs, they still will find value in the facility.

“If we lose this space, then everyone loses the opportunity to use it,” Lanquar said. “I hope that as a community people care about it, and I just hope that everyone in the Steamboat community feels the same way I feel about it. It’s a place for kids to feel at home and run around and get their energy out.”