 BOWL O PINION by Jim Goodwin
Growing Pains?
USBC DOWNSIZING
In late 2009, everyone in the bowling industry was excited about the grand opening of the new International Bowling Campus in Arlington, and about how well things seemed to be going for the newly married USBC and BPAA. But one voice of reason, USBC President Jeff Boje, told us then that more changes were coming, and that it might be mid-2010 when we might start to see some progress from the new bowling headquarters.
When we interviewed new USBC and BPAA Executive Directors Stu Upson and Steve Johnson in late September, we were impressed by their enthusiasm and intelligence. We told them about Boje’s outlook, and both said they hoped to see significant progress much sooner than mid-year. Give them credit for being optimistic.
So, here we are in late February, and we are hit with the news that USBC has reduced its staff by letting some people go, and eliminating some positions. The 13 or 14 folks (depending on the source) shown the door represent about a 10% reduction of the workforce. Shocking to some, especially those personally affected, but predictable for anyone really paying attention.
And this was not the first time for staff reductions. Going back to the days when Bowling Inc. was started in Milwaukee, USBC realized they could not continue operating with the same size workforce they had when membership numbers were over nine million. They had as many as 270 then. Today? About 140.
The reason? They are finding ways to work together with the BPAA staff, and they are finding ways to be more efficient in a tough economy; and finally, they are making sound business decisions much like any other business.
There are many reasons for the money crunch at USBC; one of them is that they have not been able to sell the abandoned Greendale building because the bottom fell out of the Milwaukee real estate market not long after the relocation decision was made. Hopes are it will rebound so they can get a reasonable profit before too long.
Other reasons are moving, hiring and training costs; failure to get the membership dues increase in 2009; and almost all tournament entries are significantly down. It has been confirmed that they have cancelled the third edition of the USBC Clash, and the rumor mill is buzzing that the PBA Women’s Series, funded by USBC, may also bite the dust.
And tucked neatly within a recent press release about 2010 convention legislation was the statement that USBC will not seek a dues increase in 2010. Why? Boje explained to us that they do not want to ask for more money until they can prove more value for members – how refreshing is that?!
WHY CHOOSE BOOZE?
In looking for new sources of revenue for USBC, someone thought it would be a good idea to sell “beverages” to tournament contestants for consumption during USBC Open Championship competition at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno. “Beverages” translation – beer, wine and other alcoholic drinks.
Wow – from the reaction of bloggers on all of the sport’s forums, you would think they are selling the souls of Joe Norris and Dick Weber.
We asked the reason for the decision, and received this answer from USBC National Tournament Director Brian Lewis:
“The decision to allow consumption of beverages, including alcohol, was made by USBC staff, with full support of the Board. We believe offering this service will be well received by many of our bowlers while also helping provide some additional revenue for the tournament.
Our goal is to provide the best experience for participants at our championships. As you well know, some bowlers come to the tournament for camaraderie and would like to enjoy a beverage with their teammates. If there is an indication this change affects the integrity of the event or negatively impacts the bowlers’ experience, USBC will re-evaluate the decision.”
We also expressed our dismay to hear this news to Jeff Boje, and he understood that “sport” bowlers were going to have a problem with it. He even admitted that it might prove to be a mistake. But his job, and Stu Upson’s job, and Steve Johnson’s job, is to grow membership and grow revenues for USBC and BPAA.
Our question to Jeff was “At what cost?” We have tried to find any other sport that allows the consumption of alcoholic beverages during professional or amateur competition, and the only one suggested was darts – but we have not been able to confirm that it is allowed in a serious dart tournament.
It does seem a little sad, however, that the national championship tournament has been reduced to the same status as a mixed league bowling on a house shot. And it sort of reinforces our decision to leave this event after bowling in more than 20 of them several years ago.
Jeff asked us to keep an open mind about this – and we will – but we will also respectfully disagree with the decision and predict that this will be a one year deal; so all you good ‘ol boy bowlers out there who crave to have an expensive brewski while bowling this event . . .drink up, and enjoy it while it lasts. And we hope the profit avails some of USBC’s money woes so they won’t need to continue this in the future.
SMART – or DUMB?
Boy, it has been a busy month for USBC.
During the BPAA Winter Summit and International Bowling Campus Grand Opening in January, some of the journalists there had the opportunity to visit with fellow BWAA member Gary Beck. Beck is a writer, and the owner of Killer B Promotions, operators of the very successful Teen Masters Tournament.
We have also worked with Gary on other projects, like the PBA Battle at Little Creek, and we served as media directors for a couple of years for the Teen Masters National Finals.
All of our business with Beck has been pleasant and positive, and we are certain he shares our passion for the sport and industry . . . which is why we are so puzzled about a statement issued by the USBC recently which seems to imply that Beck is not handling the Teen Masters scholarship money properly.
We have spoken with Gary, and he insists he has done nothing wrong. He says all he has done is ask USBC for a detailed accounting of how they are investing SMART money. And we are not talking about chicken feed; the USBC SMART account contains over $30 million in scholarship money, and Beck’s Teen Masters bowlers have close to $300,000 in it.
We have not had a chance to speak with USBC officials about this, but we read the statement on Bowl.com, and it seems incredulous that they would single out one person for questioning their accounting and investment methods and practices, and throw him under the bus to the public on their website.
On the surface, this doesn’t make much sense. We think we may hear much more about this, and it looks to us like this one might be headed to the court system.
Just what USBC needs in these tough times – the expense of defending a lawsuit. |
