The City of Chillicothe, the Chillicothe Industrial Development Corporation (CIDC) and Chillicothe Development, Inc. (CDI), have formed a partnership to purchase the Fast Lane Family Entertainment Center in Chillicothe from Grand River Entertainment Inc., for $2.2 million. City council members unanimously approved the sale in executive session Monday night following the regular bi-monthly meeting at City Hall. The contract was signed yesterday (Thursday) and news of the sale was released later that afternoon.

The Fast Lane Family Entertainment Center was built by Grand River Entertainment, a nonprofit company, with donations from CIDC and local foundations and loans from local banks at a cost of over $2.8 million in 2005. The facility features 24-lanes of bowling, has hosted professional bowling events and employs over 20 people on a full or part-time basis.

A weak economy and this past year’s skyrocketing gas prices are to blame for the entertainment center’s financial woes, according to Butch Shaffer, Grand River Entertainment president. He said this (Friday) morning, that the facility turned a profit the first couple of years after it was built. However, he said, that changed when the price of gas went up. “That’s (high gas prices) hurt us significantly,” Shaffer said. He explained that the entertainment center was designed to draw people from a 50 mile radius and fewer people were making the trip to the center when the price of fuel was so expensive. “Gas was really high back when they were forming the (bowling) leagues back in August and a lot of people who normally bowl couldn’t afford to get over there,” he explained.

Grand River Entertainment board member Terry Rumery said the entertainment center was making enough money to cover operating expenses, but was not touching its debt service. “If we didn’t have the debt service, we’d be doing really well,” he said. The $2.2 million sale will eliminate the debt. The CIDC and CDI will pay 55 percent of the purchase price and the city will cover the remaining 45 percent — a figure totalling $990,000, according to city auditor Theresa Kelly.

To make the payment, the city will get an anticipated 20-year low-interest loan from a local bank. With the promised low cost financing, the city’s payments on the purchase will be $6,000 per month. The payment for CIDC and CDI will be $8,000 per month. Kelly said as of this morning it has not yet been determined from what fund the city will be dipping into to make the loan payment.

With the sale, the city now has controlling interest of the entertainment center (holding 45 percent) and is the facility’s owner. The CDC will have a controlling interest of 27.5 percent and the CIDC will hold the remaining 17.5 percent. The center will continue to be operated by Grand River Entertainment, Inc., under a management agreement from the partnership that will provide future center profits will be paid to the partnership.

Negotiations on the sale began within the last two or three weeks, according to City Administrator Dean Brookshier. He declined to identify which party initiated the negotiations, but described the process as a “cooperative effort” between the CDC, CDIC, the city and Grand River Entertainment, Inc. Brookshier said that the sale was not discussed in open session for several reasons. “It was a situation where we didn’t know 100 percent for sure which way (the sale) was going to go,” Brookshier explained. He added that the issue had to be discussed first with legal council and numbers needed to be crunched to see if a sale was even possible.

According to a press release issued by City Hall, the sale assures that Chillicothe retains the entertainment center and without it, the future of the center was uncertain. “This action assures that Chillicothe keep the bowling center in the community, keep the jobs at the center, and keep the bowling center an important part of Chillicothe’s quality of life. The city has used the bowling center as one of its highlights on tours for businesses looking to relocate or expand to Chillicothe,” the release states. Rumery said the sale of the entertainment center is much like the city-owned golf course and aquatic center. “It’s an entertainment venue provided by a consortium of entities,” Rumery said. He added that the entertainment center provides something for the area’s youth, which is desperately needed.