The Macon Telegraph, Ga. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Jan. 6--MACON, Ga.--The Macon Knights arenafootball2 team, Starcadia amusement park and SportsTowne sports facility have been put up for sale to test the waters, said owner Beverly Olson.
'We're just putting it for sale to see if anyone is interested,' said Olson, chief executive officer of the Knights and the two sports facilities and president of Starcadia. 'I'm just looking at opportunities.'
Olson and her husband, Edmund Olson, president of the Macon Knights and SportsTowne, have asked Equity Partners Inc., of Woodstock, Md., to find a buyer or buyers for the three entities.
The properties were listed for sale under 'business opportunities,' in the Wall Street Journal last week. Starcadia and SportsTowne are located off Bass Road near Interstate 75.
No price has been placed on any of the entities.
'We specifically sell companies that are financially distressed,' said Ken Mann, partner with Equity Partners. 'And all of these have some level of financial distress. We will kind of formulate a price as we go.'
But the companies are not being sold due to a lack of cash, Mann said.
'That's not the case at all,' he said. 'It's just a case of currently these are not profitable.'
Starcadia, built in 1998, has about six full-time employees, which swells to about 60 part-time workers during the summer, Beverly Olson said. The 6.5-acre site includes batting cages, bumper boats, go-cart tracks, miniature golf, arcade games and a snack bar.
The Olsons started both SportsTowne and the Macon Knights in 2001 to varying degrees of success.
The Knights were named 'Expansion Team of the Year' by arenafootball2 during their inaugural season, followed it up with a division title in 2002, and reached the league's championship game this past season. It is part of a 26-team league.
Despite the team's success on the field -- it has made the playoffs all three seasons -- attendance has only modestly increased over the years.
The Knights averaged 3,159 fans this season, an increase of 13 percent from last year. Macon is one of only four af2 franchises to have an increase in attendance this season.
'At present, we're already committed to the Macon Knights this season,' Edmund Olson said. 'At present, we've received no offers. As far as I'm aware, no one is looking at purchasing the team. Even if some person was interested in the Knights, it would need league approval. I've made no effort to see if (anyone) was interested in purchasing the Macon Knights.'
The league concurred.
'We haven't heard anything about (selling the Knights),' said af2 spokesman Ron Deuter. 'It's news to us.'
Deuter wasn't able to report what the value of the Knights might be, saying a franchise's price was affected by elements such as its market and past success. An expansion af2 franchise costs about $500,000, and Deuter estimated that an existing team with the Knights' previous success might be worth a little more.
Edmund Olson has agreed to a new lease with the city, and is currently waiting to receive the contract to sign it. According to the city attorney's office, the contract is being finalized and should be sent out shortly.
'I'm really more concerned about getting the schedule from the league than the lease,' Olson said.
'I can't really start selling season tickets without knowing what our dates are.'
The Knights have about six full-time employees, but during the season it rises to about 30, including players. In September, a new coach, Mike Hold, was hired.
SportsTowne, which also serves as the Knights' training facility and team offices, was opened in October 2001 after a series of delays.
Construction of the 116,000-square-foot facility was estimated then at about $10 million. It has a bar and grill, multiple indoor arenas for soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis, roller hockey and flag football.
Seating for all three arenas totals about 1,400. It has 17 full-time workers.
Starcadia is 'doing fine,' and the Macon Knights are 'doing great,' Beverly Olson said.
'But, SportsTowne is just a large facility, and it's going to take a lot. --' she said, her voice trailing off. 'Well, we got off to a slow start, but it keeps getting better every year.'
The properties could be sold together or separately, Mann and Beverly Olson said.
'I'm trying to come up with more money to invest in things,' Olson said, explaining why she was selling the entertainment centers and the sports team.
Also, Olson said she is interested in selling 62 acres contiguous to the sports entertainment properties.
Guy Eberhardt, with Coldwell Banker Commercial, Eberhardt and Barry Inc., said he has represented the property for the Olsons since they bought it in the mid-1990s. But because of other recent developments in the area, the Olsons' property should draw more interest this year, he said.
'There really isn't a sale price,' Eberhardt said. 'It depends on what somebody wants. It's a premium tract of land.'
Part of the property is zoned agricultural, and part of it is zoned commercial, he said. The price per acre could go from $135,000 to $750,000, depending on location and other factors.
The pending business and real estate sales do not mean the Olsons are planning to leave town or end their philanthropic endeavors. Beverly Olson is a daughter of one of the founders of Knight newspapers, and Edmund Olson is a former Telegraph executive.
'We plan to stay here -- we're not going anywhere,' she said.
Chip Cherry, CEO and president of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, said he understands the Olsons wanting to explore other opportunities.
'I'm sure they will continue to be engaged in our community,' Cherry said. 'Beverly is one of our biggest cheerleaders.'
--By Linda S. Morris and Phillip Ramati
To see more of The Macon Telegraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.macon.com
(c) 2004, The Macon Telegraph, Ga. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
