A little background. Without being to specific, I live in one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. In the last 5 years housing prices have doubled on the high end, tripled on the low end. We have arguably the strongest economy in the country, more jobs then workers, and companies have taken to importing labor to combat the shortage. Sounds not bad, only problem is, everyone is broke. Our wages haven't kept up with cost of living, and disposable income is always in short supply.
But onto pool. 15 years ago there were 13-14 pool halls in a city of 200,000ish. 5 years ago there was 2. Now there are none. A year ago or so, the last room closed. There is still one place with 8' tables, but it caters to university kids and company Christmas parties. This is not uncommon in many cities, but today it hit me how much I missed having the pool hall around.
2.5 hrs to the nearest nine foot or snooker table just isn't realistic. And I began to wonder if I could fill the vacuum myself. I have some experience running(mostly failing) businesses, and always kind of had a dream of my own joint. So I started doing some research in earnest. Tables, restaurant equipment, wholesalers it all seemed pretty doable. I have a chunk saved, and no fear of failure.
I then started investigating buildings, and the whole idea did a dead stop. A 6,000 sq ft building with no parking and in a rougher part of town is priced at $25 sq ft. A more desirable location is closer to $40. Maybe a smarter person then me would be able to make the numbers hypothetically work, but I can't. Which made me think, the only way it will happen is if someone has deep enough pockets to purchase a building ought right and then invest in an industry that has slowly been failing in the area. Not likely I would think.
But, the interesting thing to me, is how only one year without a pool room has changed things. The large in house league is of course gone. The VNEA leagues are down, No tournaments of course. And the biggest thing is the loss of friendship and acquaintances. The scene has fragmented, a few guys here and there playing in garages and basements or on a coin-op in a bar.
I kind off fear, that in a very short time, it will all be gone. The regular but not hardcore guys are already gone. And my area risks losing an entire generation of future players. I'm sorry for the long post, but today I started thinking about it, and it just sorta made me feel sad.
But onto pool. 15 years ago there were 13-14 pool halls in a city of 200,000ish. 5 years ago there was 2. Now there are none. A year ago or so, the last room closed. There is still one place with 8' tables, but it caters to university kids and company Christmas parties. This is not uncommon in many cities, but today it hit me how much I missed having the pool hall around.
2.5 hrs to the nearest nine foot or snooker table just isn't realistic. And I began to wonder if I could fill the vacuum myself. I have some experience running(mostly failing) businesses, and always kind of had a dream of my own joint. So I started doing some research in earnest. Tables, restaurant equipment, wholesalers it all seemed pretty doable. I have a chunk saved, and no fear of failure.
I then started investigating buildings, and the whole idea did a dead stop. A 6,000 sq ft building with no parking and in a rougher part of town is priced at $25 sq ft. A more desirable location is closer to $40. Maybe a smarter person then me would be able to make the numbers hypothetically work, but I can't. Which made me think, the only way it will happen is if someone has deep enough pockets to purchase a building ought right and then invest in an industry that has slowly been failing in the area. Not likely I would think.
But, the interesting thing to me, is how only one year without a pool room has changed things. The large in house league is of course gone. The VNEA leagues are down, No tournaments of course. And the biggest thing is the loss of friendship and acquaintances. The scene has fragmented, a few guys here and there playing in garages and basements or on a coin-op in a bar.
I kind off fear, that in a very short time, it will all be gone. The regular but not hardcore guys are already gone. And my area risks losing an entire generation of future players. I'm sorry for the long post, but today I started thinking about it, and it just sorta made me feel sad.
