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FORM 10-K

x	Annual Report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

o	Transition Report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Commission file number: 333-40907

888 SEVENTH AVENUE

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

      Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirement for the past 90 days.  Yes x No o

      Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part IV of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

      Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2).  Yes o No x

      The aggregate market value of Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant: Not applicable

      As of June 30, 2002, there were 1,028,698 shares of Class A Common Stock of the Company outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

      Certain exhibits filed with the Registrant’s Registration Statements on Form S-1 and Forms S-4 (File Nos. 333-61439, 333-40907 and 333-82607, as amended) are incorporated by reference into Part IV of this Report on Form 10-K.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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TOWN SPORTS INTERNATIONAL, INC.

PART I

Item 1.     Business

General

      Town Sports International, Inc. and its subsidiaries (as used herein, the “Company”, “Town Sports”, “we”, “us” and “our”) is one of the two leading owners and operators of fitness clubs in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. As of December 31, 2002, we owned and operated 127 fitness clubs and partly owned and operated two fitness clubs. These 129 clubs collectively served approximately 342,000 members. We develop clusters of clubs to serve densely populated major metropolitan regions in which a high percentage of the population commutes to work. We service such populations by clustering clubs near the highest concentrations of our target members’ areas of both employment and residence. Our target member is college-educated, typically between the ages of 21 and 50 and earns an annual income between $50,000 and $150,000.

      Our goal is to develop the premier health club network in each of the major metropolitan regions we serve. We believe that clustering clubs allows us to achieve strategic operating advantages that enhance our ability to achieve this goal. When entering new regions, we develop clusters by initially opening or acquiring clubs located in the more central urban markets of the region and then branching out from these urban centers to suburbs and ancillary communities. Capitalizing on this clustering of clubs, as of December 31, 2002, approximately 47% of our members participated in a membership plan that allows unlimited access to all of our clubs for a higher membership fee.

      We have executed this strategy successfully in the New York region through the network of fitness clubs we operate under our New York Sports Club (“NYSC”) brand name. We are the largest fitness club operator in Manhattan with 37 locations and operate a total of 85 clubs under the NYSC name within a defined radius of New York City. We operate 20 clubs in the Boston region and 15 clubs in the Washington, DC region under our Boston Sports Club (“BSC”) and Washington Sports Club (“WSC”) brand names, respectively and have begun establishing a similar cluster in the Philadelphia region with six clubs under our Philadelphia Sports Club (“PSC”) brand name. In addition, we operate three clubs in Switzerland. We employ localized brand names for our clubs to create an image and atmosphere consistent with the local community and to foster recognition as a regional network of quality fitness clubs rather than a national chain.

      We principally sell month to month membership payment plans that are generally cancelable by our members at any time with 30 days notice, although certain monthly contracts (usually discounted corporate memberships) commit a member to a period of membership of twelve months before becoming ‘non-commit.”. As of December 31, 2002, approximately 92% of our members had such a “non-commit” monthly membership plan. We believe members generally prefer this non-commit membership plan over long-term commitments, thus giving us an advantage over competitors that only sell longer term or “paid-in-full” contracts. The non-commit membership plan also provides an incentive for us to deliver high quality programs and services in order to retain members.

      We have experienced significant growth over the past several years through a combination of (i) acquiring existing, privately owned, single and multi-club businesses, and (ii) developing and opening “greenfield” club locations (a greenfield club is a new location we have constructed). From January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2002, we acquired 45 existing clubs, opened 48 greenfield clubs, relocated two clubs, sold one club, and closed one club to increase our total clubs under operation from 40 to 129. We currently plan to open five more clubs prior to December 31, 2003. We have achieved revenue growth over the five year period ended December 31, 2002 at a compound annual rate of approximately 30.8% from $109.3 million for the year ended December 31, 1998 to $319.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2002. This growth has been driven not only by the addition of acquired and greenfield club locations, but also through mature club revenue growth, which has ranged from 4.1% to 18.6% for the five year period ended December 31, 2002 and averaged 13.0% over that period. Such growth was 4.1% for the year ended December 31, 2002. Mature club, defined as those clubs that we operated for more than 24 months, revenue growth has enabled us to increase revenue per weighted average club over the five year period ended December 31, 2002. Revenue per weighted average club

      Over our 29-year history, we have developed and refined a model club format that allows us to cost effectively construct and efficiently operate our fitness clubs. Our model club ranges in size from approximately 15,000 to 25,000 square feet. Excluding a single large 200,000 square foot club, our average club is 22,000 square feet. Clubs typically have an open space to accommodate cardiovascular and strength-training exercise, as well as special purpose rooms to accommodate group fitness class instruction and other exercise programs as well as massage. Locker rooms generally include a sauna and steam room. We seek to provide a broad array of high quality exercise programs and equipment that is both popular and effective, while reinforcing the quality exercise experience we strive to make available to our members. While we do not generally build locations with amenities such as swimming pools or racquet and basketball courts, we do strive to establish at least one flagship club that has such amenities in each of our markets. We believe that it is generally more economical to acquire clubs with such amenities than to develop them as greenfield clubs.

      We engage in detailed site analyses and selection process based upon information provided by our customized development software to identify potential target areas for additional clubs based upon population demographics, psychographics, traffic and commuting patterns, availability of sites and competitive market information. In addition to our existing 129 clubs under operation and the seven sites for which we have entered into lease commitments, we have identified approximately 70 target areas in which we may add clubs under the brand names NYSC, BSC, WSC, or PSC. We estimate that we will identify approximately 35 additional target areas in which we may add clubs under these brand names. Once we begin to approach saturation of these regions, we will explore expansion opportunities in other markets in the United States sharing similar demographic characteristics to those in which we currently operate.

      We possess an experienced management team, four of the top five executives of which have been working together at the Company since 1990. We believe that we have the depth, experience and motivation to manage our internal and external growth, and that we have put in place the infrastructure and systems to manage effectively our planned expansion. We believe that the presence of such infrastructure will enable us over time to leverage certain fixed cost aspects of corporate overhead to realize increased EBITDA margins as we continue to expand our club base. This operating leverage has already helped us to increase EBITDA margin to 21.9% for the year ended December 31, 2002 compared to approximately 17.9% in 1998. Similarly, operating income as a percent of revenue increased to 11.9% for the year ended December 31, 2002 compared to 6.7% in 1998, and cash flows from operations as a percent of revenue increased to 15.9% from 14.6% over these respective periods.

Industry Overview

      Demographic trends have helped fuel the growth experienced by the fitness industry over the past decade. The industry has benefited from the aging of the “baby boomer” generation (ages 38 to 56) and the coming of age of their offspring, the “echo boomers” (ages seven to 25). Government-sponsored reports, such as the Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity & Health (1996) and the Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity (2002) have helped to increase the general awareness of the benefits of physical exercise to these demographic segments over those of prior generations. Membership penetration (defined as club members as a percentage of the total U.S. population) has increased significantly from 8.3% in 1991 to 11.9% in 2001.

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Fitness Club Revenues(1)

(in $ billions)

	(1)	Industry revenues for 1991 and 1992 are not available.

U.S. Fitness Clubs Membership

(in millions)

      Total fitness club industry revenues increased at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% from $6.5 billion in 1993 to $12.2 billion in 2001, while the total number of clubs increased at a compound annual growth rate of 3.9%, from 12,146 in 1991 to 17,807 in 2001. Growth in club memberships outpaced club growth during this period, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 4.9% from 21.0 million in 1991 to 33.8 million in 2001. As a result, average members per club has increased from 1,729 in 1991 to 1,898 in 2001, indicating industry-wide demand for further expansion of the existing club base.

      Notwithstanding these longstanding growth trends, the fitness club industry continues to be highly fragmented. Only 10% of clubs in the United States are owned and operated by companies that own more than 25 clubs, and the two largest fitness club operators each generate less than 8% of total fitness club revenues.

      As a large operator with recognized brand names, leading regional market shares and an established operating history, we believe we are well positioned to benefit from these favorable industry dynamics.

      We believe that the growth in fitness club memberships is attributable to several factors. Americans are focused on achieving a healthier, more active and less stressful lifestyle. Of the factors members consider very important in their decision to join a fitness club, the most commonly mentioned is health, closely followed by appearance related factors including muscle tone, looking better and weight control. We believe that the increased emphasis on appearance and wellness in the media has heightened the focus on self image and fitness and will continue to do so. We also believe that fitness clubs provide a more convenient venue for exercise than outdoor activities, particularly in densely populated metropolitan areas. According to published industry reports, convenience is an important factor in choosing a fitness club.

      We believe the industry can be segregated into three tiers based upon price, service and quality: (i) an upper tier consisting of clubs with monthly membership dues averaging in excess of $90.00 per month; (ii) a middle tier consisting of clubs with monthly membership dues averaging between $90.00 and $40.00 per month; and (ii) a lower tier consisting of clubs with monthly membership dues averaging less than $40.00 per month. We compete in the middle tier in terms of pricing and because of our wide array of programs and

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Marketing

      Our marketing campaign, which has become a large driver of the brand, is directed by our in-house media department which is headed by the Chief Executive Officer. This team develops advertising strategies to convey each of the our regionally branded networks as the premier network of fitness clubs in that region. Our media team’s goal is to achieve broad awareness of our regional brand names primarily through radio, television, newspaper, billboard, and direct mail advertising. We believe that clustering clubs creates economies in our marketing and advertising strategy that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of these campaigns.

      Advertisements generally feature creative slogans that communicate the serious approach we take toward fitness in a provocative and/or humorous tone, rather than pictures of our clubs, pricing specials or members exercising. Promotional marketing campaigns will typically feature opportunities to participate in value-added services such as personal training for a limited time at a discount to the standard rate. On occasion, we will also offer reduced initiation fees to encourage enrollment. Additionally, we frequently sponsor member referral incentive programs. Such incentive programs include a free month of membership, personal training sessions, and sports equipment.

      We also engage in public relations and special events to promote our image in the local communities. We believe that these public relations efforts enhance our image and the image of our local brand names in the communities in which we operate. We also seek to build our community image through co-operative advertising campaigns with local and regional retailers.

      We maintain the following web site: www.mysportsclubs.com that provides information about club locations, program offerings, exercise class schedules and on-line promotions. Our web site provides our members a venue to give us direct feedback on all of our services and offerings. We also use our web site to promote career opportunities.

Sales

      Sales of new memberships are generally handled at the club level. We employ approximately 400 “in-club” membership consultants who are responsible for new membership sales. Each club generally has two or three full-time and one part-time membership consultants. These consultants report both to our area sales managers, who in turn report to our Vice President Sales. Membership consultants’ compensation consists of a base salary plus commission. Sales commissions range from $45 to $65 per new member enrolled. We provide additional incentive-based compensation in the form of bonuses contingent upon individual, club and Company-wide enrollment goals. Membership consultants must successfully complete a three-month, in-house training program through which they learn our sales strategy. In making a sales presentation, membership consultants emphasize: (i) the proximity of our clubs to concentrated commercial and residential areas convenient to where target members live and work; (ii) the lack of a long-term obligation on the part of the enrollee; (iii) the price value relationship of a Town Sports membership; and (iv) access to value-added services. We believe that providing employees with opportunities for career advancement is essential to our ability to attract and retain qualified sales personnel. We also employ six full-time corporate sales managers whose responsibility is to solicit group memberships through senior level corporate contacts.

      We believe that clustering clubs allows us to sell memberships based upon the opportunity for members to utilize multiple club locations to differing degrees. We have a streamlined membership structure to simplify the sales process. In addition, our proprietary centralized computer software ensures consistency of pricing and controls enrollment processing at the club level. We generally offer three principal types of memberships:

	The Passport Membership, priced from $67 to $93 per month, is our higher priced membership and entitles members to use any Town Sports club at any time. This membership is held by approximately

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	47% of our members. In addition, we have introduced a Passport Premium membership for a select club, that includes more member services, at a price greater than $100 per month.
	The Gold Membership, priced from $39 to $82 per month based on the market area of enrollment, enables members to use a specific club, or a group of specific clubs, at any time and any Town Sports club during off-peak times. This membership is held by over 52% of our members.
	The Off-peak Membership, priced from $39 to $75 per month, is the least expensive membership, and allows members to use any Town Sports club only during off-peak times. This membership is held by approximately 1% of our members.
	We also offer corporate membership plans that vary in price depending on the respective corporation’s needs. The corporate membership plans are typically at a discount to that of individual membership plans.

      By clustering a group of clubs in a geographic area, the value of our memberships is enhanced by our ability to offer Passport Memberships, which allow our members to use any of our clubs at any time. We believe the popularity of the Passport Membership results from the broader privileges and greater convenience this membership plan provides through the opportunity for members to access club facilities near to both their homes and workplace. Our clustering strategy also allows us to provide access to special facilities and programs such as tennis, squash, basketball and racquetball courts, swimming pools and programs targeted at children and other groups, through flagship locations strategically located in key target areas, without offering such facilities or programs in every location.

      In joining a club, a new member signs a membership agreement which obligates the member to pay a one-time initiation fee and monthly dues on an ongoing basis. Monthly Electronic Funds Transfer “EFT” of individual membership dues averaged approximately $70 per month for the year ended December 31, 2002. During that same period, initiation fees averaged $83 for EFT members. We collect approximately 93.3% of all monthly membership dues through EFT and EFT revenue constituted over 71.6% of consolidated revenue for the year ended December 31, 2002. Substantially all other membership dues are paid in advance. EFT members can generally cancel memberships at any time upon 30 days notice. Based upon a study of the membership base at our clubs open over 24 months, however, the average length of our memberships is approximately 24 months. The membership agreement calls for monthly dues to be collected by EFT based on credit card or bank account debit authorization contained in the agreement. We believe that our EFT program of monthly dues collection provides a predictable and stable cash flow for us, eliminates the traditional accounts receivable function, and minimizes bad-debt write-offs while providing a significant competitive advantage in terms of the sales process, dues collection, working capital management and membership retention. In addition, it enables us to increase our dues in an efficient and consistent manner which we typically do annually by between 1% and 3%, in line with cost of living increases. During the first week of each month, we receive the EFT dues for that month initiated by a third party EFT processor. Discrepancies and insufficient funds incidents are researched and resolved by our in-house staff. For the year ended December 31, 2002, we experienced an average of uncollected EFT dues of 1.5%.

      Our total EFT revenue has increased by $15.7 million per month from $5.1 million in December, 1997 to $20.8 million in December, 2002. While we strongly encourage monthly EFT memberships, approximately 8% of our members (often corporate group members) purchase paid-in-full memberships for a one year term.

Ancillary Revenue

      Over the past five years we have expanded the level of ancillary services provided to our members. Ancillary revenue has increased by $31.0 million from $11.8 million in 1998 to $42.8 million in 2002. Increases in personal training revenue in particular have contributed to $21.0 million of the increase in ancillary revenue from 1998 to 2002. In addition the Company has added Sports Club for Kids and Group Exclusives (both additional fee for service programs) at selected clubs. Ancillary revenue as a percentage of total revenue has increased from 10.6% for the year ended December 31, 1998 to 13.3% for the year ended

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Club Format and Locations

      Our clubs are typically located in well-established, higher-income residential, commercial or mixed urban neighborhoods within major metropolitan areas which are capable of supporting the development of a cluster of clubs. Our clubs generally have relatively high “retail” visibility, and close proximity to transportation. In the New York City, Boston and Washington, DC markets, we have created clusters of clubs in urban areas and their commuter suburbs in accordance with our operating strategy of offering our target members the convenience of multiple locations close to where they live and work, reciprocal use privileges and standardized facilities and services. We have begun establishing a similar cluster in Philadelphia.

      Approximately half of the clubs we operate are urban clubs while half are suburban. Our urban clubs generally range in size from 15,000 to 25,000 square feet and average approximately 20,000 square feet. Our suburban clubs vary in size from 15,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet, with one club being 200,000 square feet. Excluding this single large club, the average suburban club is 24,000 square feet. Membership for each club generally ranges from 2,000 to 4,500 members at maturity. Although club members represent a cross-section of the population in a given geographic market, our target member is college educated, between the ages of 21 and 50 and has an annual income of between $50,000 and $150,000.

General

      Our facilities include state-of-the-art cardiovascular equipment, including upright and recumbent bikes, steppers, treadmills, and elliptical motion machines; strength equipment and free weights, including Cybex, Icarian, Nautilus, Free Motion, and Hammer Strength equipment; group exercise and cycling studio(s); the Sportsclub Network entertainment system; locker rooms, including shower facilities, towel service, and other amenities such as, saunas and steamrooms; babysitting, and a retail shop. Personal training services are offered at all locations and massage is offered at most clubs, each at an additional charge. At certain flagship locations, additional facilities also are offered, including swimming pools, racquet and basketball courts. Also, we have significantly expanded the availability of fee-based programming at many of our clubs, including programs targeted at children, members and non-member adult customers.

      We have recently launched our Xpressline strength workout. Xpressline is a trainer-supervised, eight-station total-body circuit workout designed to accommodate all fitness levels. This service is a free service provided to our members. We have also introduced FitMap, which is a visual tool that provides our members with guidance on how to use our equipment through safe progressions of difficulty.

      Our Sportsclub Network personal entertainment units have been installed in over 95% of our clubs. Over 5,200 of these entertainment units have been installed. The units are typically mounted on cardiovascular equipment and are equipped with a color screen for television viewing, a compact disk player and most models have audio cassette players. The Sportsclub Network also broadcasts our own personalized music video channel that provides us with a direct means of advertising products and services to our membership base.

Club Services and Operations

      We emphasize consistency and quality in all of our club operations, including:

      Management. We believe that our success is largely dependent on the selection and training of our staff and management. Our management structure is designed, therefore, to support the professional development of highly motivated managers who will execute our directives and support growth.

      Corporate departments are responsible for each area of club services, such as exercise group programs, fitness programming, personal training, facility and equipment maintenance, housekeeping and laundry. This centralization allows local general managers at each club to focus on customer service, club staffing and providing a high quality exercise experience. General managers are responsible for the day-to-day manage-

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      Personal Training. All of our fitness clubs offer one-on-one personal training, which is sold by the single session or in multi-session packages. We have implemented a comprehensive staff education curriculum which progresses from basic knowledge and practical skills to advanced concepts and training techniques. Our education program provides professional standards to ensure that our trainers provide superior service and fitness expertise to our members. There are four levels of professional competency for which different levels of compensation are paid, with mandatory requirements trainers must meet in order to achieve and maintain such status. We believe the qualifications of the personal training staff helps ensure that members receive a consistent level of quality service throughout our club base. We believe that our personal training programs provide valuable guidance to our members and a significant source of incremental revenue from value-added services. In addition, we believe that members who participate in personal training programs have a longer membership life.

      Group Fitness. Our commitment to providing a quality workout experience to our members extends to the employment of program instructors, who teach aerobics, cycling, strength conditioning, boxing, yoga and step aerobics classes, among others. Our clustering strategy enables us to staff program instructors and professional personal trainers at more than one club. As a result, we can vary a given club’s instructors, while providing instructors sufficient classes to effectively and economically treat these instructors as full-time employees. All program instructors report to a centralized management structure, headed by the Vice President of Programs and Services whose department is responsible for overseeing auditions and providing in-house training to keep instructors current in the latest training techniques and program offerings. We also provide Group Exclusive offerings to our members, which are for-fee based programs that have smaller groups and provide more focused, and typically more advanced training classes. Some examples of these offerings include: Pilates, boxing camps, and cycling.

      Sports Clubs for Kids. During 2000, we began offering programs for children under the Sports Club for Kids (“SCFK”) brand in the NYSC and PSC regions. As of December 2002, SCFK was operating in 18 locations throughout our four major markets. In addition to extending fitness offerings to a market not previously served by us, we expect that SCFK programming will help position our suburban clubs as family clubs, which should provide us with a competitive advantage. Depending upon the facilities available at a location, Sports Clubs for Kids programming can include traditional youth offerings such as day camps, sports camps, swim lessons, hockey and soccer leagues, gymnastics, dance, martial arts and birthday parties. It also can include innovative and proprietary programming such as Kidspin Theater, a multi-media cycling experience, and non-competitive “learn-to-play” sports programs. In selected locations we also offer laser tag.

      Employee Compensation and Benefits. We provide performance-based incentives to our management. Senior management compensation, for example, is tied to our overall performance. Departmental directors, area managers and general managers have bonuses tied to financial and member retention targets for a particular club or group of clubs. We offer our employees various benefits including; health, dental, disability, insurance, pre-tax healthcare and dependent care accounts, and a 401(k) plan. We believe the availability of employee benefits provides us with a strategic advantage in attracting and retaining quality managers, program instructors and professional personal trainers and that this strategic advantage in turn translates into a more consistent and higher quality workout experience for those members who utilize such services.

Proprietary Centralized Information Systems

      Currently we are utilizing a proprietary system developed internally to track and analyze sales, leads, and membership statistics which, in conjunction with our other systems, allows us to track the frequency of member workouts, multi-club utilization, value-added services and demographic profiles by member, which enables us to develop targeted direct marketing programs and to modify our broadcast and print advertising to improve consumer response. These systems also assist us in evaluating staffing needs and program offerings. In addition, we rely on certain data gathered through our information systems to assist in the identification of new markets for clubs and site selection within those markets.

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Planned Information Systems Developments

      We recognize the value of enhancing and extending the uses of information technology in virtually every area of our business. After developing an information technology strategy to support the business strategy, we have developed a comprehensive multi-year plan to replace or upgrade key systems.

      We expect to begin implementation of a new fully integrated club management system in 2003. We have been actively involved in the design of the software and are currently in the final phase of acceptance testing. This system incorporates contemporary browser-based, n-tier technology and open architecture to allow for scalability and extensibility to support our projected growth and diversification of services. This system will provide enhanced or new functionality for member services, contract management, electronic billing, point of sale, inventory control, scheduling resources, reservations, and cash management.

      During 2001, we implemented a new time capture system that integrates with our payroll processing system. This system will also integrate with the new club management system to fully automate the various compensation plans for all employees. In addition, during 2002, we implemented a new budgeting and forecasting product that will be expanded later in 2003 for data warehousing capabilities which will enable enhanced managerial and analytical reporting. We implemented application and telephone systems to manage our internal customer service center which supports information technology, facilities, equipment and Sportsclub Network service call requests for all locations. Numerous infrastructure changes were implemented to accommodate our growth, to provide network redundancy, efficiencies in operations, and to improve management of all components of the technical architecture.

      Our website will be expanded after the implementation of the above mentioned club management system to incorporate e-business functionality such as sales of products, services, and memberships, member self service and reservations. We have built an intranet to provide the portal for the newly implemented browser-based application. Development of intranet features to support corporate communications, human resources programs, and training is ongoing.

      In the first half of 2004, we will assess our current financial systems and provide recommendations for implementation of new fully integrated software.

      Coinciding with the implementation of the new club management system, we will implement an updated Disaster Recovery plan that will include a designated “hot site”, recovery procedures, data restoration testing, and training of personnel.

Strategic Planning

      During 2001, the Company began a strategic planning process. That process, spearheaded by the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer, produced a new set of Core Values, a revised Mission Statement and a set of five-year performance targets. In 2002, more than 40 projects were completed in support of the Plan’s Strategic Initiatives and Objectives. Our Chairman and Chief Executive led the strategy process, which produced significant changes in our approach to our Brand, our Core Business Development process and our Intranet strategy.

      The Strategic Plan has been updated for 2003 with new Strategic Initiatives in several areas. Senior Management continues to support the Strategic Planning process and believes that accomplishing our Strategic Objectives will cause us to attain the five-year performance targets outlined in the 2003 Plan.

Intellectual Property

      We have registered, and are in the process of registering, various trademarks and service marks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including New York Sports Clubs, Washington Sports Clubs, Boston Sports Clubs, Philadelphia Sports Clubs, TSI and Town Sports International, Inc.

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Competition

      The fitness club industry is highly competitive. We compete with other fitness clubs, physical fitness and recreational facilities established by local governments and hospitals and by businesses for their employees, amenity and condominium clubs, the YMCA and similar organizations and, to a certain extent, with racquet and tennis and other athletic clubs, country clubs, weight reducing salons and the home-use fitness equipment industry. We also compete with other entertainment and retail businesses for the discretionary income of our target markets. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete effectively in the future in the markets in which we operate. Competitors, which may include companies which are larger and have greater resources than we have, may enter these markets to our detriment. These competitive conditions may limit our ability to increase dues without a material loss in membership, attract new members and attract and retain qualified personnel. Additionally, consolidation in the fitness club industry could result in increased competition among participants, particularly large multi-facility operators that are able to compete for attractive acquisition candidates, and real estate availability thereby increasing costs associated with expansion through both acquisitions, and greenfields.

      We believe that our market leadership, experience and operating efficiencies enable us to provide the consumer with a superior product in terms of convenience, quality service and affordability. We believe that there are significant barriers to entry in our urban markets, including restrictive zoning laws, lengthy permit processes and a shortage of appropriate real estate, which could discourage any large competitor from attempting to open a chain of clubs in these markets. However, such a competitor could enter these markets more easily through one or a series of acquisitions.

Employees

      At December 31, 2002, the Company had approximately 7,700 employees, of which approximately 2,900 were employed full-time. Approximately 325 employees were corporate personnel working in the Manhattan, Boston or Washington, DC offices. We are not a party to any collective bargaining agreement with our employees. We have never experienced any significant labor shortages nor had any difficulty in obtaining adequate replacements for departing employees and consider our relations with our employees to be good. We believe that we offer employee benefits (including health, dental, disability insurance, pre-tax healthcare and dependent care accounts, and a 401(k) plan) which are superior to those generally offered by our competitors.

Government Regulation

      Our operations and business practices are subject to regulation at the federal, state and, in some cases, local levels. State and local consumer protection laws and regulations govern our advertising, sales and other trade practices.

      Statutes and regulations affecting the fitness industry have been enacted in states in which we conduct business; many other states into which we may expand have adopted or likely will adopt similar legislation. Typically, these statutes and regulations prescribe certain forms and provisions of membership contracts, afford members the right to cancel the contract within a specified time period after signing, require an escrow of funds received from pre-opening sales or the posting of a bond or proof of financial responsibility, and may establish maximum prices for membership contracts and limitations on the term of contracts. In addition, we are subject to numerous other types of federal and state regulations governing the sale of memberships. These laws and regulations are subject to varying interpretations by a number of state and federal enforcement agencies and the courts. We maintain internal review procedures in order to comply with these requirements, and believes that our activities are in substantial compliance with all applicable statutes, rules and decisions.

      Under so-called state “cooling-off” statutes, a member has the right to cancel his or her membership for a period of three to ten days (depending on the applicable state law) and, in such event, is entitled to a refund of any initiation fee paid. In addition, our membership contracts provide that a member may cancel his or her membership at any time for medical reasons or relocation a certain distance from the nearest club. The specific procedures for cancellation in these circumstances vary due to differing state laws. In each instance,

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

      Certain statements in this Annual Report on our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002 are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial results and performance, potential sales revenue, legal contingencies and tax benefits. These statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control, including the level of market demand for our services, competitive pressures, the ability to achieve reductions in operating costs and to continue to integrate acquisitions, environmental matters, the application of Federal and state tax laws and regulations, and other specific factors discussed herein and in other Securities and Exchange Commission filings by us. The information contained herein represents our best judgement as of the date hereof based on information currently available; however, we do not intend to update this information except as required by law, to reflect development or information obtained after the date hereof and disclaim any legal obligation to the contrary.

Item 2.  Properties

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	We have also signed four leases for greenfield club development. These locations are however part of development projects and are subject to various conditions, including delivery of the space as specified in the lease.

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      We own the 151 East 86th Street location, which houses a fitness club and a retail tenant that generated approximately $560,000 of rental income for us during the twelve months ended December 31, 2002. Our fitness clubs occupy leased space pursuant to long-term leases (generally 15 to 25 years, including options). In the next four years (ending December 31, 2006), three of our fitness club leases will expire without any renewal option. In each case, we have, or will have, on the date of expiration, a new Town Sports club in close proximity, and intend to transfer members to these clubs when and if the expiring leases are not extended.

      We lease approximately 40,000 square feet of office space in New York City, and have smaller regional offices in Fairfax, VA, East Brunswick, NJ, Old Bridge, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Stamford, CT and Wakefield, MA, for administrative, and general corporate purposes. We also lease warehouse and commercial space in Long Island City, New York, NY and Brooklyn, NY, for storage purposes and for the operation of a centralized laundry facility for certain New York fitness clubs.

      As of December 31, 2002, 127 of the existing fitness clubs were wholly owned by us and two were managed and partly owned (the “Partly Owned Clubs”). In addition, we provide management services at two fitness clubs in which we have no equity interest.

Item 3.  Legal Proceedings

      On February 13, 2003, an individual filed suit against us in the Supreme Court, New York County, alleging that on January 14, 2003, he sustained an injury at one of our club locations resulting in serious bodily injury. His complaint seeks $250 million in damages for personal injuries, in addition to $250 million of punitive damages. We have in force $51 million of insurance coverage to cover claims of this nature. We intend to vigorously contest this lawsuit and presently anticipate that these matters will be covered by insurance.

      We are a party to various lawsuits arising in the normal course of business. We believe that the ultimate outcome of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, or financial condition.

Item 4.  Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

      Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5.  Market for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Shareholder Matters

      Not applicable.

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Item 6.  Selected Financial Data

SELECTED HISTORICAL CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

      Set forth below is our selected historical consolidated financial, other operating data and club and membership data as of the dates and for the periods presented. The selected historical consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2000, 2001, and 2002 and the selected historical consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2001 and 2002, were derived from the audited Consolidated Financial Statements, which are included herein. The selected historical consolidated statement of operations data for seven months ended December 31, 1998 and the year ended May 31, 1997 and 1998 and the selected historical consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 1998, 1999 and 2000 were derived from our audited consolidated financial statements of the Company, which are not included herein. The selected historical consolidated statement of operations data for the seven months ended December 31, 1997 and for the year ended December 31, 1998, were derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements which are not included herein. In 1998, we changed our fiscal year end from May 31 to December 31, which resulted in a transition period of seven months ended December 31, 1998. The decision to change the fiscal year was made for more convenience in both internal and external communications. The information contained in this table and accompanying notes should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes thereto appearing elsewhere herein.

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