Gay Games Plans Garage Sale

CHICAGO - That Gay Games water cooler you've been pining for can now be yours.
So can the massive signs from opening and closing ceremonies and the very desks where workers plotted the event that brought a world of gay and lesbian athletes to Chicago this summer.
With a $200,000 budget shortfall on an event organizers predicted would at least break even, everything must go.
By shedding these assets and soliciting donations, organizers who ran the Games on a $10 million cash budget say they will get back to zero or maybe even generate a slight surplus by the spring.
Either way, Gay Games leaders say they have proved the event doesn't need to be the notorious money loser it has been in recent years.
Kevin Boyer, a spokesman for Chicago Games Inc., the local non-profit that staged the event, said there is little chance the Chicago Games won't at least break even. He acknowledged that some bills have been paid a bit slowly but insisted there will be no financial losers when the final tally is done.
"The question was always: Would we be able to break even without asking for a little money from the community?" he said. "Of course we would prefer if we didn't have to raise additional money, but we're pleased it's modest."
Boyer said letters were sent to potential donors two weeks ago in an effort to raise $100,000. Another $100,000 has already been pledged in matching funds, he said. More money will come in from the sale of thousands of items large and small later this month.
For the last 12 years, the Gay Games, an international event staged every four years, has been financially troubled.
The 2002 Games in Sydney and 1998 Games in Amsterdam both finished more than $1 million in the red. The 1994 New York Games declared bankruptcy with a $350,000 shortfall, and the 1990 Vancouver Games ended $100,000 in the hole.
In each case, local governments, businesses or both absorbed the ultimate financial blow.
Fearing a repeat of such disasters, the San Francisco-based Federation of Gay Games fell out with its original choice to host the 2006 Games, Montreal, and turned instead to Chicago Games Inc., which it said had a more manageable financial plan.
Chicago organizers, left with only two years to plan for the event instead of the usual four, leaned more heavily on corporate sponsorship than any previous Gay Games. That practice will likely be repeated, said Charlie Carson, vice president of operations for the Federation of Gay Games.
Also, local organizers sank less money into cultural events like theater performances and film festivals than did previous Gay Games, Carson said. With a full four years to prepare, breaking even wouldn't have been a question at all, he said.
"From our standpoint they have done far better than past groups," he said. "It's not like there was a major setback as there was in other groups."
Boyer said the Chicago Games had been on track to break even but were set back by a heat wave early in the Games. Last-minute spending on water, ice, drivers and trucks brought additional costs, he said.
"These events have some wild cards in them all along," Boyer said. "You get a massive heat wave and ensure the health of the athletes, then let the dust settle."
Gay Games organizers have been chipping away at their debts, Boyer said, and getting creative when able. Equipment has been accepted in place of cash, and in some cases they have asked for bills to be lowered or forgiven.
Chicago Park District spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner said the Gay Games has given $17,000 of equipment, including softball equipment and fencing, to chip away at its balance. Gay Games, which still owes nearly $30,000, also has been sending in money on a payment plan, she said.
"Everything's fine, and we are confident that will be handled," Maxey-Faulkner said.
Chicago Games Inc., which is down to a single paid employee, began shedding its resources in the days after the event ended July 22.
Furniture has been sold, computers have been made available online, and merchandise has been offered at reduced prices.
Chicago Games Inc. will take a last grand stab at unloading their assets with warehouse sales at two Brown Elephant stores, resale shops that benefit Chicago's Howard Brown Health Center. They will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 21 and 22 at 3651 N. Halsted St. and 5404 N. Clark St.
Available items will include country and state banners used at opening and closing ceremonies, T-shirts, posters, pins, music CDs and furniture.
"We plan to have a lot of fun with that," Boyer said. "And it will lower the bills."
from The Chicago Tribune