By Cliff White
Staff Writer
A local non-profit group is seeking to take over the Gorham Sports Center and turn it into a community center, but will likely face competition in bidding for the center when the it comes up for auction Thursday.
The center, located at 215 Narragansett Street, closed on Tuesday, Jan. 22 due to financial troubles caused by escalating heating costs, according to its Web site. The Camden National Bank foreclosed on the center’s mortgage and has retained the services of Tranzon L.L.C. to put the property to auction, according to Camden spokesman Suzanne Brightbill. The auction will occur at 11 a.m. on Feb. 14 at the center.
Gorham resident Parker Cowand is one of the board members of the local group, the Southern Maine Community Recreation Center (SMCRC), that is looking to bid on the center.
“We have known this day was coming, so fortunately we are prepared,” Cowand said. “We have established a large group of local people who want to see this place remain a place for them to recreate, not turned into a cold storage facility. Once this opportunity is past, we won’t get another one like it – it just doesn’t make financial sense to build structures like the Gorham Sports Center anymore.”
The center is 50,000 square feet and lies on 17 acres of land. In the past, leagues have been organized in sports such as lacrosse, field hockey and soccer. Cowand said if his group were to win the bidding, they would continue to organize such leagues, as well as devote space and time for community meetings and other local events.
The group has secured the support of an unidentified backer, who will be taking on the upfront costs of the project by bidding on behalf of the SMCRC at the Valentine’s Day auction.
“This is a civic-minded investor who prefers to stay anonymous,” Cowand said. “This person is stepping up and taking on significant financial risk, and not doing this for any hope of making a profit or gaining recognition.”
According to Gorham town records, the center is valued at more than $1.2 million. Cowand said he expects bidding on the center to be competitive. Cowand said more than a dozen interested parties attended a recent open house at the complex.
“We’re crunching the numbers and we have an idea of what we would like to pay for it,” Cowand said. “But we know our competitors are doing the same math, and if they are doing their due diligence, our numbers are going to be very close. But there has to be a concern about overbidding, and ending up in the same predicament as the previous owner a year down the road.”
Saturley said in order to qualify for the auction, bidders must bring $50,000 in cash or certified check. Saturley said interest in the center had been “quite strong,” both from groups hoping to keep the center as a sporting facility and some who are exploring using the building for other purposes.
“Gorham is geographically placed where the location could serve a variety of different uses,” Saturley said. “Clearly, because of that location there are individuals who have looked at the property for a number of uses. But will that site work economically for a different use than as a sporting complex? I don’t know.”
Cowand said whoever takes over the center would have to spend at least $250,000 to install insulation in the roof.
“A major problem with the Gorham Sports Center is that it was never insulated, so it’s almost like dollar bills were flying out of the ceiling. The heating bill was astronomical for the former owner – apparently it took well over $100,000 to heat it over the winter. There’s just no way you can spend that kind of money on heating costs and survive as a business.”
Getting a head start of tackling the problem, the SMCRC has been collecting pledges from individual donors to help pay for $250,000 of new insulation panels.
“We’re asking people basically to buy an individual insulation square for $100,” Cowand said. “But whatever people can pledge, it won’t be refused. In order for our bid to work, be need to get the center insulated before next winter comes so it can be used as a sports facility. It’s not going to be cheap, but we think there is enough collective support in the community for us to raise the funds we need.”
Cowand said pledges of money for the insulation would not be collected if the SMCRC’s bid for the center does not win.
However, Cowand said his group is confident it can make their bid for the center into a successful one.
    “The outpouring of support from the community has been phenomenal,” Cowand said. “I think that shows just how much people want this site to remain what it has been, which is a place for kids and adults from the community to come together, recreate and have some fun.”
For more information on the SMCRC, please visit their Web site at www.smcrc.org.