Speaking of baseball... the model upon which Action Greensboro and Downtown Greensboro Renaiisance, LLC based the future ownership of Greensboro's new stadium was first accomplished in Memphis, TN.
In Memphis, a non-profit organization was formed to own both the local minor league team and the stadium in which they play. In Greensboro, Jim Melvin with the Bryan Foundation used one-half of the Memphis model and has committed to turn the new stadium over to a yet-to-be-named non-profit entity sometime in the future. Under this arrangement, all profits generated by the stadium are to be plowed back into the community in support of youth programs. The thinking is that the community will be more apt to support the facility because to do so accomplishes some real good and doesn't just line some owner's pockets.
Action Greensboro and others never envisioned including the privately owned Bats in these plans because their ownership group is a well-heeled and dedicated bunch who obviously want to retain their ownership status.
But there is a team in Greensboro that could benefit from such an arrangement - The beleagered Greensboro Generals hockey team.
This morning's N&R reports that even though the City will not continue their ownership arrangement of the team next year, the team is still a critical asset to the money-losing coliseum and the ECHL wants to continue fielding the team here.
Enter the mind of former Greensboro mayoral candidate Roch Smith, Jr.... In an email, which he has now sent twice to make sure I understood the implications and opportunities involved - Roch offers this:
"Why doesn't Action Greensboro buy the hockey team, spin it off as its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit enterprise, with profits deeded to Guilford County Schools? It might seem far fetched at this time to talk of profits from a drowning business, but if the team were a community asset that benefited schools, I think there would be greater public interest in supporting the team not to mention that the coliseum would have an easier time of justifying the rent reductions it already provides."
There is a model (although they fund community baseball, not schools), The Memphis Redbirds."
Why not indeed? Memphis Redbirds "founder" Dean Jernigan says of the arrangement: (read the whole thing)
"Jernigan never wanted to be an owner. What he wanted was a chance to reimagine what sports ownership could be. In his vision, a sports franchise isn't just another rich man's trophy, something to put on display. It's an essential part of the texture of the town to which it belongs. Jernigan wanted a team that would flourish to the benefit -- not at the expense -- of its community. He wanted a team that could never threaten to leave. What he got, in the end, was a baseball team with the same corporate structure as the American Red Cross and the United Way -- a 501(c)(3) nonprofit enterprise, the only one of its kind in professional sports."
The "Memphis Model" is just the right medicine for what could be a very deadly ailment that is looming out at the coliseum on Lee Street.
Here is a chance for Action Greensboro (or affiliates) to make another huge - and non-controversial - difference in the community. For a minimum investment a lot of good could come of it: the taxpayers will benefit by keeping the coliseum buzzing, Guilford County Schools will benefit with needed funds, hockey fans will benefit by having a place to continue their craziness... and on-and-on-and on. It is a no-lose proposition.
Step up to the face-off Action Greensboro, opportunity just hit you with a slap-shot.
9:49:01 AM 
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