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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 3, 2005 Lava Lanes General Manager Ric Donnelly has been instrumental in helping Medford remain a Professional Bowlers Association Tour stop since 2002. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Medford strikes deal with PBA Wish list of local negotiators is met, and tour will return the next three years By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune A Medford contingent found itself in a position of strength at the bargaining table. So it flexed its muscles. After putting on four straight highly successful Professional Bowlers Association tournaments, Lava Lanes will remain a regular tour stop, but with a few important deviations from last season: The Earl Anthony Medford Classic will now begin the first week of January, as opposed to the middle of December. The center will control the pricing structure of the pro-am squads and tickets, intent on making the experience affordable for more people. Advertisement There’s now a three-year contract in place — with Medford holding the same week each season — allowing Lava Lanes and the PBA stability when dealing with sponsors and scheduling. The tour’s national schedule has not been finalized, but Lava Lanes General Manager Ric Donnelly and his staff planned a press conference today to reveal the local agreement. The tournament will be Jan. 4-8 of next year. There was no guarantee the PBA would return to Medford when tour commissioner Fred Schreyer sat down a couple months ago with Donnelly, Lava Lanes pro Randy Cochran, the Medford Visitors and Convention Bureau’s Julie Petretto and Craig Cockrell of primary sponsor Rogue Regency Inn. "There was a lot of doubt," Donnelly said Tuesday. "Most of us thought it was unachievable." Medford originally paid a $35,000 annual fee for a three-year contract to bring the PBA to the Rogue Valley. When it expired, the fee — shared by the center, the VCB and other sponsors — doubled to $70,000 for last season. That hike, coupled with increased pro-am entry fees and higher ticket prices — set by the PBA — that hurt fan participation and attendance, led Medford to re-evaluate its position. The tournament requires a lot of work by the Lava Lanes staff, and while it gives the center and region exposure, it was not a moneymaker, said Donnelly. "It’s not that we didn’t want it," he said, "but we weren’t as hungry for it as we were in previous years. There had to be concessions made to us, and I feel those concessions were made." Since its inception, Medford has been voted among the most popular stops by the players because of the top-flight center and the lavish manner in which they’re treated. "If the PBA said, ‘We’re not coming back,’" said Donnelly, "we knew it wasn’t because we don’t run the facility right or we don’t run the event right. We could always hold our heads high. We gave 110 percent every year and got kudos from the PBA members and staff. We’ve run one of the best tournaments they’ve ever had, and we came to terms with that in that meeting." Bowling has wrestled with improving its image and gaining favor in major markets in recent years. But it often isn’t treated by major media outlets as a major sport. In smaller markets, bowling faces less competition for fan attention and is more likely to be embraced. "I think they need to look at those and say, ‘We need to go back to all the successful centers,’" said Donnelly. With only a few details to be ironed out, Medford will kick off a 13-stop second portion of the season, followed by the only other site on the West Coast, Fountain Valley, Calif. There will be eight weeks the first half, meaning there’s one more stop, or 21 overall, than last season. Roughly a third of the events will be different, said Schreyer. He admitted some sites last year were disappointing as the PBA charged more for pro-am entries in return for valuable participation prizes, like new bowling balls. But turnout was low enough that prices had to be reduced the second half of the season. "A few stops last year were disappointing," said Schreyer. "That evaluation is based not only on attendance and media coverage, but also from a pro-am standpoint. Some were disappointing and some were exceptionally good." Moving the Earl Anthony Medford Classic to January is beneficial for a couple of reasons. It comes after the holidays rather than before, when many people are occupied. And it gives bowlers plenty of time to make their way to the western-most site. December and January are both "shoulder" months, said Petretto, meaning they’re outside the tourist season. Any event that attracts visitors is helpful. "If I had to pick," she said, "the January time frame is better." And while the annual fee is "a chunk of change," it can be justified as advertising dollars for all the air time Southern Oregon gets during ESPN’s national telecast of the tournament. "It’s definitely a warm, fuzzy (feeling) for us in Medford," she said. And it will be for a few more years. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail Medford strikes deal with PBA ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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