Stamford Athletic Club shuts down after 24 years
Closing by church reflects financial pressures, shift for other uses
STAMFORD — Joe Pankowski swished a game-winning hook shot Tuesday in a lunchtime one-on-one battle with a colleague. It would be his last basket on the court.
The 55-year-old lawyer recorded the feat on the last day of operations at the Stamford Athletic Club, on the outskirts of downtown at 75 Third St. After a 24year run, the establishment owned by the Greek Orthodox Church of the Archangels is closing in a move that reflects financial pressures and the property’s potential shift to other uses.
“There are really good people who work here, and the basketball gym is great,” Pankowski, an 11-year club member and partner at the Stamford law firm Wofsey, Rosen, Kweskin & Kuriansky, said in an interview at the club. “It’s got everything we wanted.”
Church of the Archangels officials, whose parish council approved the closing, cited the cost of operating the club in a building of more than 30,000 square feet. They declined to provide financial results for the club or its number of
members and employees.
“This is a very large building and large operation and very expensive to maintain and run,” said Jason Konidaris, former president of the parish council.
Archangels will continue to operate 75 Third St. as its Greek Cultural Center, and still host events such as its Greek Fest, as well as Sunday School programs and church basketball and volleyball leagues.
High Rise Basketball, a youth-focused program, will also continue to rent the club’s gym.
But the Take Me to the Water Swim School will no longer operate at 75 Third. The swim program’s website now lists the local New York Sports Club, at 106 Commerce Road, as its Stamford address.
Church officials have not decided whether they will rent the building to programs other than High Rise.
They are also considering other “long-term options” for the property, according to Konidaris.
“It is an asset of the parish, just as the church (building) and fellowship hall are, so we need to be mindful of that, and try to take the best long-term care of the asset,” he said.
The club — which also includes a racquetball court, a pool and exercise and weight rooms — has always operated as a church ministry.
It opened to the public in 1995, after previously operating as an athletic facility solely for the church. The building was completed in 1976.
“It’s a sad day,” attorney Daniel Young, a colleague of Pankowski, said Tuesday after finishing up his workout. “The people who work here have been so great. They did a great job for us.”
SAC employees were also wistful but said they were grateful for their time at the club.
“I think we have a great community with the members,” said front-desk manager and social-media director Mark Jackson, who worked for six years at the club and now plans to focus on digital marketing career opportunities. “It has the feelings of a family, and it’s certainly been tough saying goodbye to some of those people I see every day. But it’s absolutely been a positive experience working here.”
To assist members in finding new workout centers, the club has reached out to other athletic facilities, Konidaris said.
Pankowski said he was considering rejoining the downtown YMCA, so he could build on his athletic achievements. In the past few months at SAC, he said he made a personal-best 96 consecutive free throws and benched 300 pounds.
“The Y, if we go there, is much more crowded,” Pankowski said. “Getting on the equipment is going to be much more challenging, but they do have basketball during lunchtime, which is great.”
Adjacent to SAC, Church of Archangels’ worship space at 1527 Bedford St. underwent a renovation between 2016 and 2017, while its administrative and fellowship facilities are now being upgraded. A nowcompleted $3.5 million capital campaign has supported those improvements.
The decision to close the club was unrelated to the work at 1527 Bedford, Konidaris said.
Archangels’ parish is about 100 years old. About 300 families belong to the church, with most coming from Stamford.