Officials in Mexico City, where Madonna's Hard Candy Fitness was just opened on November 29, give a chance to the studio bosses to get a land use permit or stop all operations.
- December 2, 2010
AceShowbiz - Officials in Mexico City are threatening to shut down Madonna's new fitness club because it lacks a security plan and a land use permit. The "Material Girl" hitmaker opened the doors of her first Hard Candy Fitness compound in Mexico City on Monday, November 29.
But studio bosses have failed to obtain all the required documents and have until Friday, December 3 to get a land use permit, or stop all operations, according to Demetrio Sodi, the chief of the Miguel Hidalgo municipality where the gym is located. Sodi told the Spanish-language TV station Televisa on Wednesday, "If they don't have a land use permit, they will not be able to operate."
Sodi explained gym bosses "didn't have any permits" when the facility opened, but he granted a special licence for the inauguration ceremony. He added the gym also needs to present a certificate showing it has parking, although Hard Candy Fitness executives will be allowed to turn in other necessary documents at a later date.
Madonna's Mexican venture is the first step in her plans to take the Hard Candy Fitness brand global - earlier this week, the superstar outlined her hopes to open fitness centers in Argentina, Russia, Brazil and throughout Europe and Asia, reports Reuters. Explaining why she chose to launch in the Mexican capital, she said, "I have a history with Mexico. I have a connection that I have always felt anyways because of my love and interest in (Mexican painter) Frida Kahlo."
