Why were old boxing gyms so cheap and modern MMA gyms so expensive?

Another thread got me thinking about this question. Seems kind of a stinky situation. You want at least one sport where the entrance price is how much blood and guts you have, not how much money.

 

How can expensive be real if you're rich

 

Well people are paying CrossFit gyms to jump on boxes and run in the streets

 

Because mma is a greedy sport especially bjj

 

Just did some data work for a new D1 facility that was $50 a week or $1000 for a handful of months.

 

Have you traned UFC before brah?

 

Because a lot of white collar asswipes are willing to pay alot of money to feel like a tough guy.

 

Yeah but no one’s ever accused boxing of not being greedy.

 

1) 2008 financial crisis

2) boxing gyms didn't have the same mainstream appeal to the masses. MMA was a cultural phenomenon like World Series of poker

 

But why weren’t they willing to pay boxing gyms?

 

Only name brand gyms cost alot, tourist gyms.

 

Crossfit's prices are ridiculous

 

i think there are several ways to answer this:

• $150-200/month (what most mma gyms cost) isn’t expensive when you take into account you can literally spend 2-3 hours each night there, 6 days a week. There are plenty of hobbies that cost much more.
• MMA gyms are usually full time, well equipped facilities and have class on every morning, lunch and night. Most boxing gyms are only open at night. Judo coaches may hire a sports hall and only run classes twice a week. There is often a noticeable difference in available gear/equipment when you compare mma gyms vs other places.
• coaches in MMA gyms get paid - often on a full time basis. Most boxing and judo coaches do it on a volunteer basis or for minimal hourly pay.

 

Most of the people who went to boxing gyms were training to be boxers , the money was made after they were trained . Most of the people going to MMA gyms are never going to be fighters so you have to make the money at the gym .

 

Modern MMA gyms hire nutritionists, BJJ coaches, kickboxing coaches, boxing coaches, wrestling coaches, and have actual classes.

Old boxing "gyms" had none of that. They were just a room with some heavy bags and no coaches except the guy who owned the place. There were maybe not even any classes. You'd just show up and train on your own with other people there and if you showed promise, maybe the coach that owned the whole gym would help you a bit.

edit:

To put into perspective, most MMA gyms used to be like that prior to ~2010. The one I went to in college just had the wrestlers that owned it and it was a room with mats and heavy bags in an industrial warehouse. The same wrestler that owned it "taught" boxing, BJJ, and wrestling classes. It cost $20 a month.

The same guy now owns a "modern" MMA gym with a cage, a ring, a full time nutritionist, strength and conditioning coaches, muay thai coaches, actual BJJ coaches, etc. in a nice part of town and it costs $200 a month.

 

I know a few boxing gyms back in the 90s that were subsidized by the cities parks n recs program but they eventually closed bc of too few participants.

 

Is that a cause though, or a consequence? You may ask why boxing gyms did not develop the same way, to be full time, etc.

 

It's actually a great value when you think of some of the larger gyms. Just one personal training session at a normal gym can cost you like $50. That $200 often gets you access to the gym's dedicated nutritionist and strength and conditioning coaches... just the gym fees are actually cheaper than hiring a personal trainer and they'll make you a diet and workout routine if you ask. and you get so much other stuff on top of that: bjj, kickboxing, wrestling.

 

I wonder why modern MMA gyms were able to follow this path of development, for better or worse, but old boxing gyms weren’t?