Opening up Pool Rooms--Pool Incorporated

[336Robin]

I have an idea for a way to put Pool Rooms back into small towns all over the country.

Lets just say we came up with a model that would work.....and we did it by using Volunteers---Retirees, sort of as an extension of the Senior Center and most towns have one. Also obtained cheap rents from special deals and got local town support and promoted a Retiree Hangout/Billiard Club atmosphere...where you could invite schools in to do Billiard Education. There would never be any alcohol served. Likely the only food would be out of a Refridgerator. There would be canned drinks and crackers and a guy there to take up money for pool time if there were any other than club memberships....it would be open all day for Seniors and probably close at 9 to 10pm. Maybe later on the weekend depending on how many people are out playing.

This sounds great but.....we have no governing body in pool that is over something like this that I know of.

The question is this: If a corporation were formed to do such a thing and it was fairly well organized to do this as a Pilot Program in a few towns to see if this type of thing would work. I'm thinking you would be buying shares of something like this and they would be for sale based on a price per share. I'm estimating that minimum $250 dollars would buy a share and a small room could probably be put in and have some money in the bank with 40k or less, maybe much less if you start out with 4 tables.

and if the town where the club were installed decided they wanted to buy it, it could be sold for a modest profit and the money recirculated to go do another one, therefore keeping it going forward.

All of this setting up, buying tables and talking to town councils and retirees could likely be managed by one guy who had some time to give it...but its not guaranteed to work.

Would you be willing to step up to the plate with some of your own money risking that you might not get it all back should it fail?

The books would always be open at meetings......and there would have to be a board of officers but this would be entirely experimental so its subject to pitfalls because we all know that it likely could not...afford to pay minimum wage to its workers and still survive. This would have to be done by people who wanted to be there that already had income but just wanted to have a place to hangout.

For Pool would you risk your money knowing it might not work?

This is what we ask Pool Room owners to do for us and we know what we want, we just want a place to play pool. This puts us behind the 8-ball.

Lets hear it.....let her rip!!

 

[Tramp Steamer]

Where I live we have two of exactly the thing you're talking about. They're called senior centers.
Each center (one on the north side of town the other on the south) has a large well lit room with four eight foot tables. There is no smoking, nor drinking, and at lunch you can go into the cafeteria and eat for under three bucks. These centers are sponsored by the county/city park board, or in other words, our tax dollars.
I played in an Eight Ball tournament at the south side location once. The tourney began at eight-thirty in the morning and wasn't over until five-thirty that afternoon. I was never so glad to get out of a place in all my life, even though I won the thing.
Give me a run down, beat-up, dark and smelly old pool room any day.

 

[Diamond69]

I like the fresh idea, and I'll try to give constructive feedback before this thread starts to derail about what's wrong with pool, etc.

1. The obvious key is "cheap rent" and how to get it.
2. I think you'd need at least 10 volunteers in a small community room of 5 tables. Doesn't have to be retired people, just people who care about pool.
3. Need to market it in advance to ensure the selected community could/would support.
4. Must have input from school boards, PTA's, etc. This is the key to growing the sport by getting to kids. I've seen threads and know people trying to get pool into schools and it hasn't seen a lot of support from parents.
5. Must have a great business plan put together with key assumption pages to determine costs vs revenue.

I'm currently not employed, but if I thought this could happen in my town, and the above items looked good, I would find $250 for a share to invest in.

Best of luck on this plan. I think you'd need to pilot in maybe 10 cities across the US for probably a year before you started jumping into more areas.

 

[336Robin]

I like the fresh idea, and I'll try to give constructive feedback before this thread starts to derail about what's wrong with pool, etc.

1. The obvious key is "cheap rent" and how to get it.
2. I think you'd need at least 10 volunteers in a small community room of 5 tables. Doesn't have to be retired people, just people who care about pool.
3. Need to market it in advance to ensure the selected community could/would support.
4. Must have input from school boards, PTA's, etc. This is the key to growing the sport by getting to kids. I've seen threads and know people trying to get pool into schools and it hasn't seen a lot of support from parents.
5. Must have a great business plan put together with key assumption pages to determine costs vs revenue.

I'm currently not employed, but if I thought this could happen in my town, and the above items looked good, I would find $250 for a share to invest in.

Best of luck on this plan. I think you'd need to pilot in maybe 10 cities across the US for probably a year before you started jumping into more areas.

Diamond69,
There would definitely be some on the ground Research done to find support for it. The cheap rent I don't think would be as much of a problem and here is why. Old Folks, know folks and I imagine that connections wouldn't be much of a problem for them with Real Estate owners, especially now a days there are always several large places in our uptown area here that are empty. I know if I had a building empty a year I would be willing to get something rather than just paying taxes on a no income producing property.

I am hoping that the main reason that parents didn't support a Billiard Education program is mainly because most places have alcohol.

In an absence of alcohol I think that the idea of fun for all ages might be more appealing. I know if I were in my 70s or 80s I would love to have a place to hang out during the day so something like this would be my cup of tea. Id volunteer for a shift maybe two a week and still have plenty of me time.

I see a place that could mingle Youth and Seniors in my mind. A place where Community Colleges could advertise their programs and the Armed Service recruiters. I see a place that has Community support and good things coming from it. I also see that at some point some retired big shot might want to own it and would buy it from the corporation just to say it was his, which would free profits to be distributed in another place.

I'm not sure but this might have to be private non-profit depending on how the hands were tied by doing so. I do know a few people who have done that and there can be freedoms within that structure that others don't have.

Thankyou for saying you would find the money, you obviously meant it. If I do it I will be sure to let you know.

 

[SouthernDraw]

Its good that you are thinking about ways to improve this sport. Kudos to you. Just remember, you are tying in volunteers with for-profit investment. This would be inadvisable because of liabilities. You would need to pay for workman's comp, in case of accidents, especially with disagreements that inevitably pop up in poolrooms. It needs to be non profit or for profit. Also try it in one place first. Prove it can work, then expand.

Personally, I think something structured like a country club could work. A nonprofit, with membership fees and dues. Members volunteering to open and close. However, this would need members that could afford it. Where I live, the rooms offer free pool to league players. People that can afford fees can play for free, no reason to get their own place. Biggest obstacle for any room or format is rent today.

Whatever the answer is, it needs one dedicated person to work through the obstacles. And probably a little startup capital of their own money.

 

[3andstop]

We should start small first and solve world peace. Just kidding.....

I have always thought the answer is school programs. From 6th grade. Somehow, someway, this would grow pool like little league ball.

 

[336Robin]

Its good that you are thinking about ways to improve this sport. Kudos to you. Just remember, you are tying in volunteers with for-profit investment. This would be inadvisable because of liabilities. You would need to pay for workman's comp, in case of accidents, especially with disagreements that inevitably pop up in poolrooms. It needs to be non profit or for profit. Also try it in one place first. Prove it can work, then expand.

Personally, I think something structured like a country club could work. A nonprofit, with membership fees and dues. Members volunteering to open and close. However, this would need members that could afford it. Where I live, the rooms offer free pool to league players. People that can afford fees can play for free, no reason to get their own place. Biggest obstacle for any room or format is rent today.

Whatever the answer is, it needs one dedicated person to work through the obstacles. And probably a little startup capital of their own money.

SouthernDraw,

I appreciate your words of advice. Its a dream of sorts that I see as doable but you are right there are a road of landmines, it always does come down the money.

I would like to see people get together and then really do something even if its wrong. At a point something needs to be done and really it doesn't have to be all that grand.

I asked someone once what could be done to save pool. He told me he wasn't so sure pool needed saving and perhaps he was right. I'm sure in metropolitan areas pool will survive but at what cost?

I love pool so what do you do? Nothing...that's already been done.