I would hate to be on that City-County Athletic Complex board of directors.

Talk about your proverbial rock and hard place.

You remember the CCAC board. They're the folks who had a vision of creating a first-rate athletic complex in our county.

They got no support from the county. There are no local tax dollars going into the CCAC.

They went around to individuals, businesses and organizations, hat in hand, to solicit donations.

They got it done.

Our county has one of the nicest places to play softball in the Midwest. Teams come from all over to play ball here.

It also is a top-notch soccer facility.

After all that, the board is faced with a dilemma.

The CCAC is operating in the red.

All those annual pledges received each year go into an escrow account and are used to pay off the original construction loans.

That money can't be used to help meet operating expenses. The complex needs to be self-sufficient.

It isn't.

Operating expenses currently exceed $100,000. Expenses include things like utilities ($15,000), insurance ($15,000) and maintenance ($80,000). Maintenance includes everything from cleaning the bathrooms to mowing and daily field preparation.

Currently, complex expenses exceed complex income. The income comes from league fees, advertising on signs, the batting cage and concessions.

Obviously, the CCAC can't continue to operate in deficit mode. The CCAC needs to operate like a business.

Toward that end, the CCAC board took action.

They proposed three things for the upcoming season.

First, they proposed hiring a full-time director to help the CCAC run like a business. Someone to organize programs and meet economic goals.

Second, they proposed a return to fresh food concessions with the CCAC controlling the delivery of all concessions for softball and soccer.

Third, they proposed eliminating all league fees paid by teams and instituting a $25 to $30 per person per league player fee.

That fee would be collected by league and team officials prior to the start of each league season.

Every player in every league would pay the fee. If an individual plays in two leagues, he or she would pay the fee twice - once for each league.

No other fees would be collected by the CCAC except gate fees for weekend tournaments or other special events.

Currently, fees are paid to the CCAC per team, per year.

Men's softball pays $250. Women's softball, women's church, men's church and girls' fastpitch pay $175. They pay less because they play a shorter season.

The Kosciusko County Soccer League pays $125 per team, and co-ed softball teams pay $100; less, again, because of a shorter season.

Traveling league soccer teams pay $30 per game.

There is no question that under the new fee system, more money would be raised.

But it also would get the CCAC in the black.

The new fee system makes sense to me because it generates the revenue up front, at the beginning of the season. The director can look at the number of players and plan, financially, for the entire season.

And while it is a significant increase, it doesn't seem to me to be an onerous one.

Take men's softball. If you have 15 guys on your roster and you pay $250, each guy's share would be $16.67. That would be raised to $25 or $30.

Is that too much to ask for 22 games of softball?

Some of these same guys pay $20 for one round of golf.

So the CCAC board of directors pitched these proposals to a group of league representatives.

The league representatives disagreed with the new fee structure. They wanted it left the old way. Some threatened to play elsewhere if the fees are raised.

They proposed a $2 per car gate fee all season to raise additional revenue.

They argued that the $25 fee could be too burdensome for families that have a couple kids in more than one league.

While conceding that $2 every time they drop their kid off would probably end up costing more, they felt that the up-front expense of a per-player fee was too great.

The gate fee, they theorized, spreads the cost out over the entire season.

At the same time, they said a season pass could be offered. But wouldn't that put all the costs back up front?

But the gate fee also would be a nightmare to administrate. Someone will have to sit at the gate. Some sort of structure must be erected. And the revenue stream is spread out over the entire season instead of being in the kitty at the beginning.

But despite reservations, the board is considering the gate fee proposal in an attempt to keep the league representatives happy.

But what kept league representatives happy apparently has rank-and-file softball players upset.

Many players think the gate fee idea is lame and would rather pay the $25 or $30 player fee.

Of course, everybody blames the CCAC board. They're damned if they do and damned if they don't

The whole thing is still up in the air; nothing has been decided. Everything on the table is negotiable.

The board will meet again Feb. 23 to discuss the matter with league representatives.

In the meantime, I would advise softball and soccer players to discuss this with league representatives. Let them know what you think.

My advice to the board is to do what is best for the CCAC. Running it like a business is a good idea. It is a business.

Soliciting the input of league representatives is one thing. But how many businesses allow their customers to set their prices?

So far, local businesses and individuals who don't even play games at the CCAC have been footing the bill.

The CCAC board can go to the same wells only so many times.

Now it's time for the people who play to be the people who pay. [[In-content Ad]]