Thanks to some vandals that just want to destroy something for the pure excitment of destruction, the Rainbow Softball Center pitching/batting cages are closed indefinitely.
Sometime from 11:00 pm Saturday night, Aug 23 to 8:00 am Monday, Aug 25, vandals destroyed the central elevator, distribution pipes and all related wires. It's a wonder they didn't receive an electrical shock!!! Unfortunately, just to replace the elevator alone is going to cost nearly $5,000 so the department is looking at options.
What do you think we should do?
1. Replace and repair what is needed to get it operational. Estimated cost $5,000.
2. Renovate the cage and replace the elevator, pitching machines and coin boxes. The existing equipment is about 13-14 years old. Estimated cost: $18,000
3. Add batting cages similar to what is found at Antimi and American Legion. No pitching machines, just let teammates pitch to each other.
4. Do nothing.
A few comments: Over the last 10 years (1998-2008), the machines generated a total of $57,984 in revenue and had about $14,000 in expenses. This resulted in a profit of $43,984 for the 10 year period. The machines do generate revenue.....as long as they're working!!!
Sometime from 11:00 pm Saturday night, Aug 23 to 8:00 am Monday, Aug 25, vandals destroyed the central elevator, distribution pipes and all related wires. It's a wonder they didn't receive an electrical shock!!! Unfortunately, just to replace the elevator alone is going to cost nearly $5,000 so the department is looking at options.
What do you think we should do?
1. Replace and repair what is needed to get it operational. Estimated cost $5,000.
2. Renovate the cage and replace the elevator, pitching machines and coin boxes. The existing equipment is about 13-14 years old. Estimated cost: $18,000
3. Add batting cages similar to what is found at Antimi and American Legion. No pitching machines, just let teammates pitch to each other.
4. Do nothing.
A few comments: Over the last 10 years (1998-2008), the machines generated a total of $57,984 in revenue and had about $14,000 in expenses. This resulted in a profit of $43,984 for the 10 year period. The machines do generate revenue.....as long as they're working!!!
Let us know what you think!
1 comment:
I personally would like to see new cages installed at Rainbow. If they turned a $40,000 profit it seems like a pretty smart idea to keep them. I know the current equipment would often have problems even before the vandals destroyed it completely. If the city can spend so much money on biking and walking trails and maintain them for no return, it seems obvious to me that it would be wise to invest in something that would turn a profit. That's just my two cents.
Jason Windsor
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