City to buy SportsPlex for $5.5M

The Bloomington City Council approved an ordinance Wednesday to issue $6.5 million in revenue bonds to purchase the Bloomington SportsPlex, despite citizen concerns about the economy and closing of a community center.

The move will expand the programs offered by the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department but will also mark the closure of the Bloomington Adult Community Center.

The council voted 8-1 in favor of the purchase. Only 5th District council member Isabel Piedmont-Smith voted against the ordinance.

The city will purchase the SportsPlex, 1700 W. Bloomfield Rd., for $5.5 million, almost half its appraised value. The bonds will be repaid with interest from the revenue generated by the facility. Also included in the ordinance is $950,000 for repairs, surveying and a financial analysis. An extra $477,000 will be used as capitalized interest – extra funds in case the city has trouble paying back the bonds in the first two and a half years.

The facility has indoor basketball courts, an indoor soccer field and classroom. Classes and programs offered by the Bloomington Adult Community Center will be relocated to the SportsPlex and other area locations.

At the city council meeting, Director of Parks and Recreation Mick Renneisen gave a presentation of the business plan for the SportsPlex. The council’s major concerns were profitability and accessibility.

Renneisen told the council that the SportsPlex was “profitable,” adding that new membership rates would be lower than current fees, and additional free programs and special rates for low-income families would be offered.

Though the facility is located on a bus route, all council members questioned its accessibility. There is currently no bicycle lane by the facility, and bus riders must cross the street to reach the bus stop.

Renneisen said the Parks and Recreation Department would look into possible solutions such as installing a traffic light and improving the bus route.

City Council President Andy Ruff also raised the question of the ongoing legal case of co-owner Bruce Furr, who was indicted for fraud in 2007. Renneisen said the U.S. Attorney General sent a letter assuring that the federal government will not seize the  building.

Council members said the response from their constituents has been mainly positive. Most negative responses concerned the current economy, the cost of the facility and the closing of the Bloomington Adult Community Center.

Piedmont-Smith said she received responses from her constituents thanking her for voting against the ordinance.

“I didn’t feel like we had sufficient financial data,” Piedmont-Smith said.
The most recent financial data presented by Renneisen was from 2007.

Piedmont-Smith also said she was concerned that the facility was almost inaccessible without a private car. Many of her constituents were also upset with the closing of the Bloomington Adult Community Center, she said.

“It is not an adequate replacement,” Piedmont-Smith said. “It is not focused on older adults or in a central location.”

Renneisen said the current Bloomington Adult Community Center building at 349 S. Walnut St. would be leased out, but the city would potentially be able to use the facility on evenings and weekends.

Piedmont-Smith said her other reservation about the purchase was the current economic slump.

“Just what I have read about economy has really weighed on me,” she said. “It makes me hesitant to engage the city in an investment while there is a big cutback in spending.”

Bloomington resident Bob Rogers spoke in favor of the purchase at the meeting. He cited other facilities in the area were too expensive and that a city-owned facility would help low-income families.

Rogers is the founder of Fathers Against Non-Support, a support group, and said the facility would be good to house his program and others. Rogers said despite the financial concerns, the center would be a place for the community to interact and be used by people of all ages.

“I think it is a wise investment,” Rogers said.