As Biscuit Run State Park starts to take shape south of town, one of the uses that some county residents would like to see is the provision of athletic fields. Unfortunately, the state doesn’t provide such things—it’s the job of localities, which aren’t allowed to build them in state parks. A proposed land swap might solve the problem, Brian Wheeler reports for Charlottesville Tomorrow, thanks to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. The non-profit owns the 100-acre Southwood Mobile Home Park, directly adjacent to Biscuit Run, and they figure they can donate thirteen acres to Biscuit Run in exchange for being given thirteen back. Then they’d take seven of those and provide them as a proffer to the county in exchange for permission to increase the density of housing in Southwood. All of this requires sign-off from the county, the General Assembly, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, but there’s nothing extraordinary about the request, so it’s well within the realm of the possible.
Archive for the 'Sports' Category
Some Albemarle high school coaches are getting free athletic gear after inking deals with sporting goods vendors, Sharon Fitzgerald writes in The Daily Progress. The athletic departments at AHS, WAHS, and MHS all signed contracts with vendors without first vetting the agreements with the school system. AHS’s coach athletic director signed up with Adidas, agreeing to buy $30,000 worth of their products each year for the next three years, and agreeing that the teams would wear that gear “when possible.” WAHS’s coach athletic director signed with Russell Athletic, in a contract with no end date, for a 35% discount. And MHS coach athletic director Fitzgerald Barnes signed the most unusual agreement: for two years, they’d buy only Under Armour products—for which they get a 40% discount—and agree to exclusively use Under Armor products, with the coach personally getting $10,000 in free products each year, and other coaches getting a combined $5,000 in free products.
It’s one thing for coaches athletic directors to be entering into unauthorized agreements, but it’s quite another for them to be personally enriched by those agreements. That’s precisely why such agreements are to be approved by the school system—such a kickback would never have been permitted.
04/18 Update: The proper job title for the individuals in question is “athletic director.” Although they might be coaches, there are coaches at each school who are not also athletic directors.
After coaching UVA’s women’s basketball team for longer than I’ve been alive, Debbie Ryan is retiring at the end of the season, Jerry Ratcliffe reports for the Progress. Ryan took over as head coach in 1977, and in the intervening years she established a career record of winning 69% of games. The university is launching a nationwide search to find a replacement for her.
In this week’s Hook, Courteney Stuart explains how 29-year-old businessman Mark Brown came to acquire the Ice Park. He bought it last week for $3M, and intends to keep it closed it for the summer while he has some modifications made to the facility. Brown is taking the financial leap that the prior owners could never justify: installing a removable rink floor, so that it can be closed and rented out each summer as a general-use large venue. (The rink alone is three times larger than The Omni’s ballroom.) It’s slated to re-open on September 15.
Since the owners of the Charlottesville Ice Park announced its closure due to a fundamentally flawed business model, it’s seemed inevitable that it would shut down—who wants to buy debt with little prospect of return? Looks like there may be a buyer, Courteney Stuart reports for The Hook. The catch is that the potential buyer is $300k short of the asking price, so this is far from a done deal.
Sideblog
UVA graduation is this weekend (May 20th). Consider yourself warned. #
Theodore Roosevelt’s Albemarle retreat, Pine Knot, is looking to become more well known and accessible. #
Tablet computers are working out pretty well in city schools. #
VDOT got seven bids for the Western Bypass, but they’re secret until one is selected in June. #
One small car part is the sole evidence of who killed a Waynesboro woman in a hit-and-run on Saturday. The community at Jalopnik figured it out—it’s from the grille of a 2003 Ford F150 XL. #
Does the city have the power to set the speed on the bypass so ridiculously low? Several people argue that it does not. #
Council has again shot down the police department’s request for funding to put CCTV security cameras all along the Downtown Mall. #
A little light reading: Charlottesville’s charter. These are the rules, set by the legislature, under which C’ville exists. #
The plan for Shoppers World has been made public. Stein Mart and DSW will moving in to the complex recently vacated by Whole Foods. #
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Archive for Sideblog »
Charlottesville Blogs
- Battle of the noodle: Allied heats up recycling rhetoric against Van der Linde Dave McNair
- People watching pick: Baggby’s Dave McNair
- Canterbury meets Katie Couric at UVA graduation The Rev. James Richardson
- I Want to Live in Upperville Brendan Wolfe
- Could a Mid-Week Farmers’ Market Work in Crozet? Jim
- Virginia’s General Assembly and the New Voter Identification Law Walker Richmond
- Graduation blessings The Rev. James Richardson
- “However, some things must be said, and there are times when silence becomes an accomplice to injustice.” jmrlblog
- Baggby’s – still my favorite “cool” view of the Charlottesville Downtown Mall (2012) RuthK
- This Day (L’édition paranoïaque) Brendan Wolfe
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