Wednesday, October 8, 2003
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Wednesday, October 8, 2003 |
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Big names involved in PTC tennis venture By J. FRANK LYNCH
The plan to transfer management of the Peachtree City Tennis Center and Fred Brown Jr. Amphitheater to a private, nonprofit investment group headed by AIS Computers cofounder Tommy Turner has emerged as the front-runner proposal. Turner, also a founding member of the tennis club, played host Monday night to about 20 potential investors at the Ashland Grille. Among the names who've stepped up to Turner's plate: Terry Maple, a longtime Peachtree City resident and director of Zoo Atlanta whose vision is largely credited with turning the Grant Park zoo around starting in the mid-80s. In January, Maple retired from the zoo and returned to academic pursuits at Georgia Tech. According to Turner, Maple brings a wealth of experience in public-private partnerships, especially vital to the continued success of the two facilities. Both venues are owned by the city but must be managed by independent, nonprofit concerns in order to qualify for hotel-motel tax revenues. "Terry was very informative," said Turner. "He shared ideas and thoughts of what he's done with the zoo. We're talking about a guy that took over a zoo that had a budget of less than $1 million when he started. And this year, it was something like $17 million." Other names that have signed up include former Peachtree City Mayor Bob Lenox, former DAPC member Doug Warner, and auto dealer Mike Fitzpatrick. The remaining members of the development authority, which changed its mind at the last minute and "took back" its resignation offer, were there to answer questions about the board's policies and financial standing. Turner said the end-of-year status of the DAPC's accounts is of concern, and he hopes to get documents showing just where the venues stand financially within the week. "I keep hearing the Tennis Center finished in the red in the $60,000 to $70,000 [range]," said Turner, somewhat encouraged by the news. It could have been worse, he admitted. "Both facilities this year had the best years ever, and if it weren't for the legal fees from the Rapson lawsuit, they would be in the black," said Turner. In seeking "15 investors with $10,000 apiece" to launch his management venture, Turner felt assured that $150,000 in reserve funds would meet any overruns. Now, he's thinking he may not need that much. "The $10,000 was just a figure to see how serious people were," he said. "I need people's time, their input. It's not the money I'm worried about. I need their knowledge, their advice." Turner said he has identified three or four potential partners who've got extensive experience in financial affairs. This week, they'll start hashing out a serious financial plan. He hopes to have something firm to bring to the table, partners and all, in a couple of weeks. As for the future of the DAPC, Turner said he sees them maintaining some sort of role, a prospect that greatly disagrees with Mayor Steve Brown's insistence that the DAPC sever all ties with whoever ends up running the venues. Turner forgives the on-again, on-again confusion caused by the DAPC's about-face. "Thirty days is not enough time to work this thing out and sort it through," he said. "It runs a risk of the whole thing falling through the crevice. That was my concern. And I think the DAPC's main concern is that progress is made and the venues continue as they were. Once that is assured, I would hope nobody in the city has a problem with where it's rested."
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