Funding the Freeze, How Sport and Fitness Facilities Can Survive the 2025 Government Shutdown
- Ian Inman
- Oct 28
- 7 min read
The federal shutdown that began October 1, 2025 has halted SBA and USDA business lending nationwide. For many industries, this is inconvenient. For sports performance facilities, physical rehabilitation centers, and athlete development academies, this is devastating. These businesses cannot operate without space, equipment, and high-performance infrastructure. They require significant upfront investment, and the sudden removal of federal financing support has created immediate challenges.
At Facility Founders, we are seeing firsthand how this disruption is affecting new and expanding facilities. Founders who planned responsibly and structured their financial strategy around SBA support now find themselves locked out of the primary lending channel designed specifically for them. Meanwhile, obligations continue. Rent is still due. Contractors expect payment for ongoing work. Utility and equipment invoices do not pause simply because Washington has.
What concerns us most is the timing. Many of our founders align opening schedules with critical athletic seasons, tournament cycles, and academic calendars. A single funding delay could push a launch into the wrong part of the year, resulting in lost memberships, reduced athlete pipelines, and less market visibility. The wrong two-month setback can erase momentum that took years to build.
This is exactly why Facility Founders exists. Our team is actively guiding facility owners through this crisis by opening alternate channels of funding, restructuring project timelines, and ensuring that every founder remains positioned to continue forward progress.
We are helping facilities:
• Complete underwriting packages while others remain unprepared• Secure private equipment and working capital financing
• Build phased rollout plans that generate revenue even before full buildout
• Prepare SBA-ready submissions that will be first in line once approvals resume
We want to be extremely clear. When federal lending operations restart, the backlog will be immediate and overwhelming. Applications that are incomplete or rushed after the shutdown ends will be pushed to the back of the queue, causing delays that may take months to resolve. Without expert intervention, many facilities may simply run out of time and funding runway.
We refuse to let that happen to our founders. We are actively working with lenders who are still funding. We are strengthening loan files now. We are training founders to negotiate better terms and avoid predatory lending traps. We are protecting build timelines that would otherwise collapse.
We are here fully operational and working aggressively to ensure our facilities continue moving toward opening day. This moment demands leadership. We are committed to being that leader while our nation's politicians continue to neglect the role.
If you are building a facility during this shutdown and you feel the financial pressure closing in, you are not alone. Contact our team. We will help you navigate, adjust, and ultimately secure the funding required to complete what you started.
What is currently blocked
• SBA 7a and SBA 504 approvals are paused
• USDA Business and Industry approvals are paused
• IRS verification services are delayed, increasing underwriting time
• SEC review functions are reduced for capital markets pathways
Each of these halted functions represents a structural component of small business finance. SBA and USDA programs provide the most accessible forms of low rate, longer term credit for new facilities. IRS income and business verification is a critical compliance step required by lenders to protect against fraud and to verify repayment ability. SEC review is essential for businesses pursuing equity capital where offerings or filings require regulatory confirmation.
These disruptions are supported by reporting from multiple financial, government, and regulatory sources. Banks and economists have noted tightened credit conditions and anticipated backlogs that will remain after the shutdown lifts. This means that the negative financial impacts are not limited to the duration of the shutdown itself. The longer approval times, stricter lending requirements, and inflationary cost of capital are likely to continue well into the period following the government’s reopening.
In practical terms, founders who do not secure alternative financing or complete their funding readiness work during the shutdown will experience delays far beyond the political timeline. A facility that expected to secure funding in October could realistically face approval windows that extend into the second quarter of the following year. For many early stage facilities, that delay is not survivable without a strategic financing pivot.
What is still open and fully active
Although federal loan programs are paused during the shutdown, a variety of funding channels remain fully operational within the private and state controlled financial system. These options are not dependent on federal appropriations, which means they continue to operate without interruption. For Facility Founders, this is where real progress can still be made.
Conventional Bank Business Credit Lines
Credit lines from mainstream banking institutions remain one of the most attainable financing pathways during the shutdown. Businesses that can demonstrate basic financial capability, such as organized bookkeeping, early revenue generation, or a strong personal credit profile, can often access $20,000 to $150,000 dollars in revolving capital. These lines allow founders to pull funds only when needed while keeping interest costs lower than alternative financing. Banks may require a personal guarantee and clearly defined business purpose but approvals are relatively fast for well-prepared applicants. This is commonly the starting point for founders with existing bank relationships.
Private Equipment Financing
Equipment lenders continue to approve financing for turf systems, training rigs, therapy tools, and performance technology. This option is both common and practical because the equipment itself serves as collateral, reducing the lender’s risk and enabling quicker decision timelines. Many sports facilities begin their launch by installing core revenue-producing assets while delaying larger real estate borrowing. Loan sizes from $25,000 to $150,000 dollars are typical for first-phase equipment, making this one of the most accessible and strategically smart options.
Business Credit Cards and Unsecured Credit Lines
Access to business credit cards is widespread among founders and can be executed quickly when a structured plan for usage and repayment is in place. Programs that offer promotional interest terms allow facilities to make necessary early investments in marketing, presales, or minor buildout costs while delaying major financing until SBA programs resume. When combined across multiple issuers, founders can commonly secure $25,000 to $75,000 dollars in initial working capital if credit profiles are strong. This path requires disciplined financial management but is one of the fastest and most common short-term solutions.
Local CDFIs and State-Backed Programs
Community Development Financial Institutions and state level lending programs are designed specifically to support smaller local businesses that positively impact the communities they serve. These institutions place more weight on mission and local value than large banks, which makes them especially suitable for facilities supporting youth development, sports training, and public wellness. Loan sizes in the $25,000 to $150,000 dollar range are common. Although documentation can be slightly more extensive, approval rates tend to be higher for new businesses compared to major banks.
Vendor Payment Terms and Soft Financing
Many equipment and contracted service providers offer payment arrangements that do not require immediate lump sum investment. Turf companies, training equipment manufacturers, and recovery technology suppliers often provide zero-down or delayed-payment structures to help businesses launch more smoothly. This approach does not always supply cash into the business directly, but it removes large upfront spending barriers and allows founders to secure key assets earlier. It is one of the easiest strategies to unlock progress without traditional lending exposure.
A Strategic and Patient Approach During the Shutdown
The most successful facility founders are not those who rush into the most expensive capital available, but those who continue building strategically while waiting for the most favorable funding opportunities to return. Patience does not mean inactivity. It means disciplined preparation, documentation readiness, and smart execution of lean initiatives that allow progress without unnecessary financial burden.
This period of restricted federal lending creates an important advantage for founders who treat preparation as a competitive asset. By organizing documents, solidifying financial projections, refining their business structure, and building professional underwriting files, they ensure that their project is fully primed for approval when lenders regain full operational capacity. The moment SBA and USDA programs resume, the founders who already have complete lender packages will move to the front of the approval line.
During the waiting period, it is wise to adopt a lean startup approach to facility development. Not every piece of equipment must be purchased before launch. Not every square foot of space must be built out on day one. A phased rollout of revenue producing programs allows facilities to begin generating cash flow while still moving toward the ultimate vision. Renting equipment, turfing partial space, scheduling programming in progressive blocks, and prioritizing high demand offerings can serve as early capital catalysts rather than expenses.
Speed remains important, but speed without strategy becomes waste. Lean facility launches minimize initial spend, reduce reliance on high cost debt, and allow founders to validate their model quickly with real customers. These early stage operations can also strengthen the lending narrative, proving market demand and revenue traction prior to the full capital raise.
A founder who prepares aggressively during the shutdown and launches intelligently in phases will exit this period stronger and more resilient than competitors who froze operations or rushed into risky financial commitments. The goal is not simply to survive the shutdown. The goal is to position the facility to thrive the moment the funding environment improves.
Don’t Get Left Behind, We Can Help
The federal shutdown is making funding harder than ever. Many facilities will not survive this moment because they are choosing to wait and hope. Hope is not a financing strategy. Action is.
We are here to ensure the builders, not the bystanders, are the ones who open their doors. Facility Founders has already adapted. We are actively guiding sports and fitness entrepreneurs through this freeze. We are reorganizing capital stacking strategies. We are preparing documentation packages that lenders will approve the moment programs reopen. We are helping facilities launch in phases so revenue can begin now.
Every day you delay preparation, the backlog grows larger. Every week that passes places you deeper behind those who are already working with us. Once approvals resume, timing will determine who gets funded first and who spends months waiting.
This may be the most important decision you make in your business journey. If you are a sports or fitness coach building a program or facility and you want expert support securing capital and navigating this shutdown, schedule a consultation with our team today. We would love to see how we can help you get back on track: