Curious decision on Mcdermont

It was a curious decision made by the Lindsay City Council at the urging of staff to turn the moneypit Mcdermont Field House over to a local company.

Curious because as many people pointed out, Mcdermont Venture, Inc. is made up of the same people that the city has in place to manage it now — Alfredo Velasco, Deici Avila and Clint Ashcraft are currently employed at Mcdermont as its managers and director — and under their watch it continues to be a financial strain on the city.

Do they know something we don’t? Not likely.

Mcdermont Ventures was really the only option available that allowed it to stay open.

The city requested formal proposals and reached out to possible companies that are in the business of running these types of venues, but only received interest from the local group.

That in itself is pretty telling. It’s a massive structure —172,000 square feet — with no identity and very little parking.

It’s part sports facility and part amusement center situated in a small, rural town with an agriculture-dependent economy and few amenities.

It’s hosted plenty of one-offs such as concerts, boxing matches and other sporting events, car shows and more over the years.

The Best of the Valley Quilt Show is really its only signature multiday event.

The terms of the five-year contract are still being worked out. The City of Lindsay will still be on the hook for property insurance and its debt service payments.

Mcdermont Ventures has expressed an interest in purchasing the facility that opened in 2008. The city has said it will come up with a sale price.

The city really only had two options — close the facility or find someone to take it over.

Yes there was a third option, the city could have continued to operate and manage it, but that was not working as staff stated.

The city is doing the prudent thing by looking to get out of the field house business altogether.

When the idea for Mcdermont came up more than a dedade ago now, many did not think there were enough people with money in the area to make it feasible in Lindsay.

Unfortunately, those people appear to have been right.