IS IT TRUE that the Great Lakes Valley Conference representatives all express satisfaction with the sparsely attended basketball tournament at Ford Center?…the “Chief Spin Doctor” of the Evansville Sports Corporation Jason Sands is also barking the satisfaction line?…the players and coaches all got to play in a $127 Million almost empty stadium and they are happy?…none of the above had a real financially accountable stake in the event?…the people who are responsible for the operating expenses of the Ford Center have been silent?…the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Venueworks, City Council and the Mayors office has been silent?…these organizations have a financial interest in having a bigger crowd at the Ford Center?…finally a couple of our readers told us that the GLVC tournament was subsidized by Deaconess Hospital?…they wonder how the customers of Deaconess will react to the sponsorship dollars when they get a bill from the hospital for $10,000 for a couple of hours of medical treatment?
IS IT TRUE that the new Vanderburgh County  Democratic Party Chairmen Scott Danks is going snake hunting?  …he isn’t going to Washington D C  to find them but here in Vanderburgh County?  …at last weeks party caucus he could have begun his snake hunting venture at that meeting?  …that meeting was attended by many Mayor Wiinnecke supporters and his political patronage buddies?  …it looks like Mr. Danks remarks were spot on when he said “that the head of political snakes is local not in D.C”.?  …could that be the reason why a group of alleged Democrats quickly and quietly left the meeting right after Mr. Danks remarks?  …it looks like the Democratic party of Vanderburgh County has a new Sheriff in town?…we are also pleased that Mr. Danks announced “that he will aggressively go after every seat in the city and the county”?
 IT TRUE a couple of our readers would like to know the answers to the following questions concerning the Evansville Sports Corporation? …does anyone know who hired the Evansville Sports Corporation Director? …does anyone know where his office is located? …does anyone know if the Evansville Sports Corporation has a Board of Directors? …If so, who are they? …does anyone know what the Directors yearly salary is and what funds pay for his salary and operating expenses?
IS IT TRUE that Bankrate Magazine surveyed a statistically significant number of Americans expecting a tax refund from the IRS and learned that only 6% of those expecting a refund will spend it on something special?…the other 94% indicated that they will either save the money of just spend it on everyday life?…these intentions are indicative of an economy that has not delivered decent wages while the unemployment rate was reduced by expanding near minimum wage jobs?…there are plenty of jobs out there, but they barely pay more than being on the dole?…most credible sources agree that there are still 20 million people out there who are under employed or want to work?…that leaves 75 million people over 16 who do not work and do not want to do so for any number of reasons?
IS IT TRUE the brick and mortar way of selling consumer goods is coming apart quicker than a Russian Space Station re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere?…the latest casualty is the HH Gregg chain of stores?…HH Gregg recently announced that they will be filing for bankruptcy and closing 88 stores?…we don’t know if the HH Gregg on Evansville’s Eastside will be on the chopping block, but we do know that prior to HH Gregg that space was a Circuit City that also wound up in bankruptcy and closing every location?…the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result?
IS IT TRUE that todays “Readers Poll”  question is: Do you agree with Evansville Sports Corporation Director Jason Sands that the 2017 Great Lakes Valley Conference basketball tournament was a success?
FOOTNOTE:  Its time for the Mayor, Evansville City Council and Venuworks be held accountable concerning the financial activities of the Ford Center.   Venue works needs to provide the Mayors office and the Evansville City Council an accurate and detailed profit and loss statement of the Ford Center for the first quarter of this year.  We are told that this report won’t be pretty.
The assumption that because a person receives a refund and doesn’t spend it on something frivolous (special?) or save it isn’t very bounded by reason. If your refund is $18, what special thing will you purchase? If your refund is $1800 and you don’t WANT to buy anything special, how is it a sign of a low wage or being unemployed or under employed? Could you be retired or a, GASP, homemaker? The use of a refund for anything is only indicative of the fact you overpaid your taxes.
On the GLVC tournament, you are dead on. Taxpayers get gouged once again by the powers that be.
CCO Editor: the 1st Quarter of 2017 isn’t even over yet–today is March 8th. So no surprise that the Ford Center results for that period aren’t yet available. Why not report on the operating results for the five years (2012-2016) the facility has been open ?
A picture is worth a thousand words!!! How can a conference or the sports corp. put a positive spin on the GLVC tourney??? Per yesterday, I still say the OVC tourney in 2018 will be just as big a flop. It may have D1 teams and they may be close to Evansville, but let’s face it, not a power conference. Face facts, our own UE team can’t put more than 5000 fans in the Fraud Center on a weekend day. High school gyms could host these games.
The answers to all of your questions, except taxpayer funding, are on the website: http://evansvillesports.org/
Board of Directors: http://evansvillesports.org/about-us/board-of-directors/
Platinum Sponsors of Evansville Sports Corp.: http://evansvillesports.org/about-us/member-organizations/
(I assume this means they pay for some part of the expense) ECVB pays a chunk of hotel tax revenue that they control.
They are a 501(3) C and the office of Mr. Sands is in the ECVB building at 401 S. E. Riverside Drive.
their non-profit status report from 2015: http://nonprofits.findthecompany.com/l/1748759/Evansville-Sports-Corporation.
On their partner page they do list Vanderburgh County & ECVB but do not say anything specifically about any funding from taxpayers. In reviewing the larger Indiana Sports Corp. the organizations statewide are referred to as taxpayer supported not-for-profits. They have at least two full-time employees. Jason Sands and a currently open position for a “Project Manager”. They report as a “Department” of the ECVB.
Part VII, page 7, of this 2015 form 990 for the The Evansville Sports Corporation lists the officers and directors of the corporation.
http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/273/273107601/273107601_201512_990.pdf?_ga=1.178627500.902978307.1489001174
It reads like a whos who of the local establishment. And still the arena operates in the red, requiring annual infusions of taxpayer dollars.
“finally a couple of our readers told us that the GLVC tournament was subsidized by Deaconess Hospital?…they wonder how the customers of Deaconess will react to the sponsorship dollars when they get a bill from the hospital for $10,000 for a couple of hours of medical treatment?”
This is always a dicey issue. As a community organization, and as the largest employer in the area, Deaconess provides some funding to many organizations as a way of giving back to the community and will continue to do so. It’s always appropriate to perhaps questions which organizations and how much is invested, but the total amount would amount to mere pennies on a hospital bill. A bigger freebie influencing your bill is the amount needed to cover uninsured or nonpaying customers.
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