College basketball tournament moves out of Sears Centre
Officials from the Sears Centre's mainstay college basketball tournament said they're making a fastbreak to the UIC Pavilion - another sign that the Hoffman Estates venue will close in October.
The Chicago Invitational Challenge spent the last two years at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, and organizers were happy with the arena and the area hotels.
"We did not want to move from the Sears Centre," said Bob Patton, president of the Chicago Basketball Tournament Inc., the group that organizes the tournament.
Village officials said Jeff Bowen, the arena's executive director, was notified last week the arena would close on Oct. 1 and that he and his 10-member staff would be let go on Sept. 30. The building's current owners, the Ryan Companies, have struggled to turn a profit since the venue opened in 2006. They took an operating loss last year of more than $512,000 and are preparing to turn over the building to the village of Hoffman Estates.
That transition will likely force the 11,000-seat arena to close temporarily, with the village targeting a January reopening under new management. Bowen informed Patton's group and other event organizers in early August the venue could close "at some point this fall" and to find a new venue or cancel their event "to protect your interests."
Village officials worry the UIC Pavilion in Chicago could steal the tournament away permanently from Hoffman Estates. The Pavilion seats 10,000, and Patton said the new deal is for a year. His company is taking a wait-and-see approach, but he said he'll listen to UIC's pitch.
The tournament in past years featured the University of Illinois and Marquette University. This year's line up includes the University of Notre Dame and Northwestern University.
"Northwestern is pleased that the organizers of the event were able to find a suitable alternate location," school men's basketball team spokesman Nick Brilowski said. "Our program is happy to be participating in the event."
The eight-game tournament will take place on Nov. 27-28. Tickets are on sale at the participating schools' ticket offices, and will go on sale on Sept. 25 through Ticketmaster and the UIC Pavilion box office.
Tickets for the Sears Centre already purchased for the tournament over the phone or through ticketmaster.com can be refunded or credited toward new ticket purchases. Seats bought at Ticketmaster retail outlets should be returned to the point of purchase.
Meanwhile Hoffman Estates trustees could vote Monday to foreclose on the arena. That would give the village the legal standing to take control of the building if Ryan leaves the venue vacant. The action would leave the village in a better position to run the building, Village Attorney Art Janura said.
Officials are eyeing an important meeting on Monday between Mayor William McLeod and Ryan Companies CEO Pat Ryan that could also produce a settlement and allow a smooth ownership transition, with or without foreclosure.
They'll also discuss the Spirit Spectacular, a youth cheerleading event scheduled for Nov. 8 that's a major fundraiser for a local cheerleading group. The village may ask Ryan to arrange to keep the arena open for the day.
"On Monday, we don't know what might happen," Janura said. "There could be an agreement that could short circuit all of this."
Once the village takes over, it would assume responsibility for the $55 million loan it backed for Ryan to build the arena. That could cost the village $88.4 million over 22 years.