GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Owners of the Gainesville Juniors Volleyball Club are hoping now is their chance to become a tenant at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center as the county looks for a new operator.
Club directors Stephanie Wyatt and Joe Deluca say this move would not only help the center with revenue, but also help them serve more families in a bigger building.
They say they currently serve around 350 to 400 families, and want to be a positive, stabilizing force at the sports center during the transition to a new operator.
They are willing to pour in more than $275,000 of direct revenue in one year.
County commissioners voted unanimously to find CP Event Center Operations, L.L.C., a subsidiary of Viking Companies, in default of more than $500,000 in unpaid special assessments.
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Now, county leaders are developing a plan to run it themselves or find a new long-term operator.
“Gives us the opportunity to bring in regional events, volleyball events, that will meet the needs of our community and all of our athletes,“ shared Club Director Stephanie Wyatt. ”But more than that, if we have more space, we can meet the needs of underserved communities or athletes and families in the community.”
Subcontractor RADD Sports sent a letter to the county defending its role, stating it had consistently performed in good faith and covered unpaid management fees to keep the facility running.
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The current operators are only allowed to run the center through the end of September.
“They were not willing to consider us to be part of the facility,” said Club Director Joe DeLuca. “It’s crucial for a variety of reasons: financially, the location of the facility, and as Stephanie has pointed out, the present structure we are in, our lease agreement expires in 9 months.”
Deluca hopes this time they won’t be turned down like they have been in recent years.
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