Who really killed Toledo's "Hoop" Dreams?

Today's Toledo Blade covers part of what past stories written on this issue by the Blade have also detailed that I think are relevant to seeing why the facility failed.

Even the title of Today's story: Owner cries foul as time runs out for sports center

COUNCIL CRIES FOUL OVER HOOP PROJECT is a headline from 2001 when Toledo City Council was arguing with the Mayor over who was responsible for costs related to environmental clean up.

At that point it appears it was City Council not the Mayor who did not want to pay the payment of $165,000, to reimburse the developers their costs for dealing with environmental problems at the site, including the discovery of 117 barrels containing paint sludge buried at the site.

"Send it back to the mayor," Councilman Louis Escobar demanded. "Tell them to clean it up."

It also appears that the Mayor and his administration was following what they were told by Law Director Barbara Herring that the charges were appropriate for the city to pay under the terms of the lease.

Yet is that the only reason why this facility failed when the one in Columbus has done well?

Even when the idea of the Hoops facility was first created there were concerns. In 1999:

Title: RESIDENTS SLAM PRIVATE BASKETBALL CENTER IN PARK
Author: TOM JEWELL BLADE STAFF WRITER
Date: August 11, 1999

About 60 people turned out for a public hearing on a proposal to locate the privately operated facility in Colony Park in West Toledo. The opposition was overwhelming.The city administration is proposing the location for The Hoop Basketball and Fitness Center, which would offer basketball players indoor courts around the clock, along with a running track, weight room, and aerobics unit in a 46,000-square-foot building.

Even then the admission price was a concern and residents were against the intial proposed location that might have proven more successful.

In 2000, George Karl was here in Toledo for the opening of the Hoops Facility.

KARL FRUSTRATED ABOUT UNC JOB MILWAUKEE DENIED HIM CHANCE TO COACH AT SCHOOL WHERE HE PLAYED
Author: DONALD EMMONS
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Date: August 10, 2000

Karl and Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner helped break ground on Karl's development project in North Toledo - but in a new way. Instead of the traditional silver shovels digging in the dirt, Finkbeiner and Karl shot some baskets.

Both men were on hand to talk about The Hoop, Karl's new, 24-hour basketball and fitness facility located at Manhattan Boulevard and Colony Street.

"It's so wonderful to have a person like George investing in Toledo," the mayor said. "This is going to provide a lot of fun and learning for a lot of kids."

Karl and his associates are building the 43,000-square-foot facility. Toledo will be the second market to have The Hoop, after Columbus. The city of Toledo owns the land and is leasing it to The Hoop for $500 a year. It is also providing a tax break.

Karl says he has no interest in making money off his basketball centers. He said he's not sure if the Columbus center turns a profit, and he said he'd be happy "to open up the books to the people of Toledo." Instead, he views the centers as a way to give back to the game that has given him so much by getting young people involved.

But, in 2003:

Title: BASKETBALL FACILITY CUTS OPERATING HOURS
Author: GEORGE J. TANBER BLADE STAFF WRITER
Date: April 11, 2003

The owners of a North Toledo athletic club for youths, citing financial problems related to a long-simmering squabble with the city, cut its operating hours yesterday and are threatening to close the facility.

The company also alleged that the city failed, as promised, to build other sports and recreation facilities near its complex, and that it declined to transfer city-operated basketball and volleyball leagues there.

"We need those recreation leagues there to give us an additional revenue stream," Mr. Cecutti said. "We promised to build them a nice building, and we did."

Councilman Michael Ashford, who represents District 4, has a different view. "They city never guaranteed it would provide programs. There's nothing like that in writing," he said.

"They are not around households that can support it on a daily basis," said Mr. Ashford. "They can't give a reduced rate to disadvantaged kids or families. They need the money to operate. [But at] $5 each time, how many times do you think a kid from a low-class family can go there?"

Maybe the lack of TARTA access is also an issue but it was not mentioned in any of the previous Blade articles. The main focus seemed to be on the arguments surrounding how much of the environmental costs would be reimbursed then later belief that the City did not transfer city leagues there or build more facilities there. Since 1999 the cost to play there has been mentioned as a concern. The Blade article from today also mentioned the cost factor:

But some who used the facility said the fees - $5 a person for 3 hours or $35 a month - were too high, especially for the targeted market of lower-income patrons.

"It was cool. But the fee was just too high," said 21-year-old Gary Brazzel, who regularly played on The Hoop's courts during winter weekends. "In the winter time, when there was no other place to play, that's where you go."

What is obvious is the community did not support this venture. Was it the location? Was it the cost? Is this something that can be blamed mainly on Carty and the City? Or does this show if you build it and they can't afford it they won't come? That I'm not sure about, and while it is popular at this point in time to blame Carty for most things, I'm not sure how much of this he could have avoided.