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PLAY BALL: SPORTS CLUB
RETURNS ; TWO ENTREPRENEURS HAVE REVIVED THE ORLANDO SPORT AND
SOCIAL CLUB, WHICH FOLDED LAST YEAR.
It was a "huge social part of my
life," said the 29-year-old Wu, who works in public relations
for the Orlando Miracle women's basketball team. The club
attracted young professionals in their 20s and 30s who played
games of flag football followed by club- sponsored get-togethers
at bars downtown. That all went away when the
club closed in January 2001. But two local entrepreneurs,
Ezra Simmons and Dan Kempinger, have helped to revive the club
and have vowed to make it better than its predecessor. "We thought `we can run events,
and we can do better than this,' " said Simmons, 29. At its height, Sport and Social
Clubs of the U.S., the former Chicago-based parent of the
Orlando club, boasted 400,000 members in 17 cities. The company
considered itself a leader in the "adult recreation business." It was owned by StreetZebra
Inc. of Marina del Rey, Calif. The dot-com operated local sports
and recreation guides on the Internet. But money problems
developed at the company, and clubs, including the Orlando
chapter, were closed. Some members were notified by
e-mail, others found out the local club had closed when they
showed up for a game. In addition to the games, many
club members also were out money, having paid for the coming
playing season or for a club-sponsored ski trip. Those who
hadn't paid by credit card were jilted. About a month after Sport and
Social Clubs of the U.S. closed, a new group of investors,
Chicago's Bortz Entertainment Group, bought the operation and
the parent company became Worldwide Sport and Social Clubs. Simmons and Kempinger
approached Worldwide last July. "They decided to give us a shot
in the Orlando market," Simmons said. Former club members
themselves, the two twenty-somethings were hired by the company
to manage and operate an Orlando chapter. Worldwide paid money owed to
the cities of Winter Park and Orlando. The company also wanted
to lure back former members, even those who had been burned by
the closing. For this winter season, the Orlando club has
between 300 and 400 members on about 35 teams, slightly fewer
than before. Larger chapters in Chicago and
San Francisco had offered a winter rebate program to those
members who registered for another season. To attract membership,
discounts were offered to some old members and some were signed
up for free. Typically, a member now pays $60 to $70 for each
nine-week season and teams pay $520, comparable to the old
rates. "We wanted to get the customers
back in good graces," Simmons said. Members had complained about
the club's previous owners. Among other things, teams had to
supply their own officials. When games were canceled or
rescheduled, players often weren't informed. So instead of rushing to get
players back out on the fields, Simmons and Kempinger paid
attention to matters the original club had overlooked. "We wanted to give a quality
product," Simmons said. The co-directors have tried to
eliminate commuting by setting up game sites throughout the
Orlando area. Volleyball games are held at Maitland's RDV
Sportsplex, while softball games are played at the Dr. James
Smith Center, a park and recreation facility in south Orlando. They also set up tents at game
sites where players can sign in and get information on upcoming
events, like club-sponsored happy hours.
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When
Orlando Sport and Social Club unexpectedly folded, Katherine Wu
was one of many members left in the lurch.