Charities group will cease
There were several attempts made to find a new LPGA tournament sponsor.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning Valley Sports Charities, which donated $4.2 million to area charities over the past 12 years, will dissolve, perhaps by the end of the year.
MVSC was formed in 1993 to operate the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic, which will not return to the Valley for a 2005 tournament.
Tom Hollern, chairman of the Board of Mahoning Valley Sports Charities, made the official announcement Wednesday morning in the boardroom of National City Bank.
"There were a variety of circumstances involved," Hollern said. "Primarily, expenses were going up and the revenue being generated was going down. Obviously, that couldn't continue."
Giant Eagle, which was title sponsor of the golf tournament for several years, told MVSC after this year's tournament that it was not going to continue its involvement.
Making the decision
Hollern said the board made several attempts to find a new title sponsor, but when those efforts proved fruitless, the difficult decision was made.
The MVSC board made its decision official at Tuesday night meeting, Hollern said.
"When Giant Eagle first became involved as title sponsor," said Hollern, "it was responsible for about 30 percent [of the sponsorship money]. This year that figure was on the north side of 50 percent."
Hollern said the players' purse, which was $1.2 million this year, needed to be raised to at least $1.5 million for 2005.
"The numbers got very difficult for [an] LPGA [event]," he said.
Hollern was asked if MVSC looked at bringing another tour event to the Valley, like the Champions Tour (formerly known as the Seniors Tour). He said monetary involvement for other tours is greater than an LPGA Tour event.
Also, Hollern conceded, "I'm not so sure these things [tournaments] don't have a life. Perhaps the LPGA event had run its course."
Hollern said while the tournament always had operated in the black, 2004 was the first year that the donation to charity -- $360,000 -- had decreased from the previous year. At the height of the tournament's fiscal popularity, the donations to as many as 60 local children's and education organizations reached $460,000.
"The economic condition of the country, and the Valley, made sponsorship more difficult," Hollern said. "Giant Eagle's pulling out in no way was the sole reason for the decision not to continue the tournament.
"We made significant attempts to find new sponsorship; it just didn't work out. There was still a modest interest among the founding sponsors to continue," he added.
But, when a title sponsor couldn't be found, there wasn't a discussion among the founding sponsors to continue their support.
Hollern said he was disappointed for the thousands of volunteers who helped make the tournament a success. He said he hoped they would redirect their efforts in other charitable ways.
Impact
"There are two obvious impacts," he said. "Certainly, the impact on the charities is not insignificant.
"Second, there is the economic activity before, during and after the tournament that will go away. I don't have a way of measuring that, but I'm sure it is significant."
Hollern said his personal memories of the tournament will be dominated by the relationships he developed over the years, with players, tour officials, volunteers and the fans.
"With the exception of the last six months, it's been a lot of fun," he said. "My relationship with [LPGA commissioner] Ty Votaw, I hope, will remain a warm one.
"I got to know a lot of the players. My wife and I had the pleasure of dining with Nancy Lopez one year.
"I remember the playoff two years ago that included Annika Sorenstam; the excitement of the fans as the players went from the 18th hole to the 10th hole and back.
"It was all just a great experience for me."
Hollern said there are a number of legal issues to be resolved before the MVSC officially is dissolved, but he expects everything to be completed before the end of the year.
There is a cash reserve of $1.1 million being held by the MVSC that, Hollern hopes, will be given to a local foundation and from which the earnings will continue to provide help to children's and educational charities.