Lets rewind a bit. The Vette City Roller Derby of Bowling Green, KY was in their most successful season yet. We defeated Derby City to be the second derby to hold the Commonwealth Wheel, (a trophy held by the best roller derby league in Kentucky). We were in the process of climbing from 145th to 112th in the nation. Our sister-league, Nashville, not only participated in the D1 tournament in Evansville, (of which we volunteered) but they were also hosting the International Championships (of which we also volunteered). We even took our first trip to the WFTDA convention. We would also set the stage for our next big season. One which we would participate in our first invitational tournament, and play against some news-making teams including Memphis, Akron, and Ann Arbor.
But there was a slight problem. Our venue was becoming the Anna Sun. Now don't get me wrong. The manager, Mama Smurf was fantastic. She would bend over backwards to accommodate us. She would help us out when needed. And best of all, she loved derby.
However, the problem started when the venue was sold to a new owner. This person was draining money from the business, and not paying the mortgage. But we didn't see any of this. All we saw was the venue was falling apart. The floor was in desperate need of repair. The sound system was ancient. And worst still, the HVAC system was out of order. Cold harsh winters were being replaced by the hottest, most humid summers. While, we could press through it, our audience could not. We lost attendance as a result.
As a result, I volunteered to be placed on a new task force to find a new home. All of this was under the table. We loved Mama Smurf, and didn't want to hurt her. But we needed to do something. Our goal for the new season, was to have one home game in another venue. No problem right? We have an entire season to come up with something. Or so I thought.
When sh*t hit the fan
It was the middle of November when I got Kimmical's text."umm we need a new practice space now too. Skatebox appears to be closing sometime in Jan. Just got the email."
So, our deadline just got moved up. From before the end of the season, to right now. Worst still, it was the middle of Holidays. People will be busy, businesses closed, traffic awful. The board was going to meet about it, and then have a league meeting. I was the only person out side the board who knew what was going on. At this point, I had 2 tasks. 1) Don't panic. and 2) Don't let others panic.
It wasn't long before I started a spreadsheet on all the possible locations. Nothing was marked off the list. Do I really think Sloan or Kincely center will host us? Probably not. Still they won't get marked off until we try. Does this place look too small? Don't care. Lets see if for our selves. Too expensive? Too big, still putting it down. I got a Loopnet account and app for this very reason.
I also hit the forums. /r/RollerDerby on Reddit was full of leagues loosing our homes. I guess we are one of the many. But we got a few idea from places. Charlottesville in particular had a flyer they created to let the community know what they needed. I sent this to our graphics team, and in no time we had one of our own. We also created a Media Packet to pass out to people. Anywhere we could pass this out, we did. Sponsors, Media, Facebook, Homepage, Chamber of Commerce, Visitors Bureau.
Getting hits, and a lot of misses.
The first hit we got was from a business in Glasgow. Ralphie's Fun Center, is a (really cool) entertainment establishment that does, among other things, bowling, laser tag, bouncy castles, and a newly installed skating rink. The rink itself was constructed with the advice of on of our own league members who lives in Glasgow. There was two problems. The first was that it was in Glasgow. Being the Vette City Roller Derby, we need to be in Vette City. The second problem was that the rink was just too small for our use. By this time, January, we really didn't have many options. For practice purposes, it would have to work.
Next, we got word from another derby member who said that her child's private school would allow us to practice in their gym. Like Raphies, the place was too small. However, it would have to work for now. While we wouldn't have to pay rent while we were there, we will likely send a nice donation their way.
We also had an interest from the Beach Bend Farmers Market. While the facility was still too small, I was able to meet one of the founding members.
And a few more misses.
While none of the practice spaces were ideal, it would have to work for the time being. Now we had to turn out attention to finding a place to play our games. With our home opener a month away, we needed a place to put a regulation track.
The Ag Center was willing to host us. However, they have a dirt floor and nothing to put on top of it.
Sloan Convention Center would have worked. However, they were booked up through 2018.
The Corvette Museum had a big enough location, just shaped in such a way where it was useless. (Can you imagine?)
The Knicely Conference center was long enough, just not wide enough.
Diddle Arena, where our University team plays we were told:
"Thank you for the email, but this does not seem to be an even we would be interested in hosting. Good luck with the season."
Next, we tried the two Parks and Recreation in town. Bowling Green, and Warren County. They both had one problem. Despite being big enough, they were both very protective of their floors. Warren County did have an outdoor roller hockey rink that we could rent, but this was out doors and subject to rain cancelations. Something we could not afford with visiting teams.
Thats it. The few venues we could host in were either not suitable or we were rejected. I was beginning to wonder if we would have a league.
But if there is anything I have learned about living in Bowling Green, its this. It doesn't matter if your a Hilltopper, Vixen, Hot Rod, Hot Broad, Bandit, or Hornet, giving up is just not in us. Even when it looks hopeless, you have to fight to the end. And like many Hilltopper games I have witnessed over the last few seasons, a miracle was about to happen.
We got all the right friends in all the right places.
It always helps to have friends. This friend happened to be one of our former NSOs. Justin Story. While he was unable to join us for the last season, it was mostly because of his new job...at the Bowling Green Daily News.
It started when one of our skaters sent an OpEd to the Daily News. They didn't run that story. Instead Justin contacted us who then ran several stories about the Skatebox and VCRD.
Up until now, Mama Smurf was reluctant to get press attention. As a league, we could only say that we had "outgrown" the Skatebox. Yet the Skatebox is a bit of an institution. Every person I had talked to remembered going there for events of some sort, be it skating, or parties. One co-worker told me about doing Tire Dodgeball there. But now that the venue was foreclosed, and auctioned off to the original owner, everything was public record. And we needed a better explanation.
This publicity is exactly what we needed. From there, we were contacted by several groups.
D1 is a sports training facility for multiple athletic systems. They were ready to get us there right away. The issue wasn't the turf, just width.
Total Fitness Connection, who happened to be next door to The SkateBox, also offered. They are no ordinary gym. They specialize in training, physical therapy, and While we had several suggestions to try them out, we didn't realize why until we saw for ourselves. The facility was huge. They had bleachers for seating, EMS trained staff on site, Locker Rooms, Showers, and members got access to all 4 of their facilities. While they do have turf, it doesn't look like anything we couldn't work with. The only issue would be logistics.
We also had an individual who owned multiple warehouses in the area who also offered one of his locations.
Last, and certainly not least, was another call from Bowling Green Parks and Recreation. Remember how I said they were protective of their floors? Turns out they are looking to make a few changes. In fact, they have been asked by the city to come up with a Master Plan. This involved 3 things. First was a survey. Second was a Mindmixer. Finally, was a planning meeting. We encouraged our skaters to do all of these things.
Turns out VCRD wasn't the only group who heard of this meeting.
Competition? Or strange bedfellows?
We knew had to step in and make an impact in this master plan meeting, or risk being left behind. We decided to make the Master Plan meeting a mandatory community event for our skaters, and even canceled practice that evening so they could make it.
Skaters and Officials, both current and past made it to this meeting. But were were far from the only one. We all sat in this Junior High school theater. Each in their factions. VCRD was in one group, Bikers in one, Silver Sneakers in another. Ice Hockey Moms in the back wearing yellow shirts that said "Ice Rink Now". My landlord sat with the Indoor Tennis groups. Pickleball was in the middle. A few soccer moms were supporting indoor soccer. 200 people showed up for this meeting. Each with a different agenda. Each one with a different tactic.
Hockey moms said their sons were having to travel an hour to play hockey. They also said that the Nashville Predators would even be willing to work with the city.
Bikers said that they could bring in competition and income to the city.
Silver Sneakers group said they had close to 400 people in their group and had to split off into different classes.
Pickleball lamented the lack of places to play while Tennis and Soccer wanted someplace indoors.
We tried a different approach. We knew the city was not going to build a Roller Derby track for us. This is not what we wanted, or was it necessary. All we wanted was a big flat indoor surface to play. Strangely enough, thats pretty much what everyone else wanted too. The problem with the parks system was that it was not diversified enough. They had plenty of Football and Baseball fields, and a large number of basketball courts. But these were not your traditional Southern American sports. And as a result, they got pushed aside. Sure there were some differences. Hockey wanted ice, tennis and pickelball needed nets, soccer needed turf. But arenas change these things out all the time. Why couldn't a park system do it?
And everyone else started to realize this as well. Bikes were kind of an outcast, but there is no reason they couldn't have their piece of land too. Despite the 200 people and 5 factions, the meeting when remarkably well. Everyone wanted the same thing.
The next day, I was told that one of our board members would be in on the stakeholders meeting. We have a seat at the table. Now, I sit here with 5 media packets printed out waiting Hans Solo to pick up and take the meeting, and for the next miracle to happen.
