The Sky Is Officially Falling
I’ve been trying to put this off for as long as possible, but its time to move the PCN Threat-o-Meter needle into the red.
How bad is it for the billiards industry? Really bad. As first reported on Billiards Digest, the BCA has warned that they will finish their fiscal year with an $800,000 loss. Now before you all start ringing the death knell for the BCA, keep in mind that according to their annual report, they had a little over $3,000,000 in cash and assets prior to this loss. The BCA still has plenty of dough, they just need to be a little more careful with their spending moving forward.
And that brings us to the really bad news. Hasta la vista BCA/EnjoyPool/GenerationPool 9 Ball Championships. The Hall of Fame ceremony is going the way of the dodo as well. Not a big surprise considering the fact that these two events are an annual $150,000 sinkhole but damn does it suck to see the best looking billiards event on TV bite the dust.
I’ll tell you what really chaps my hide about the 9 Ball cancellation. The massive losses can be blamed squarely on the location of the trade show. North Carolina was pretty disastrous, especially when you keep in mind that the BCA generates 2/3 of its revenue from the show. North Carolina was Steve Ducoff’s final donkey punch to the BCA and the billiards industry. Even with the loss, cutting the 9 Ball event seems a bit extreme. After all, the trade show will be back in Vegas next year, which means more attendees and more booth space sales. This really makes you question what exactly the BCA is going to be doing to promote pool and billiards (which was their founding mission after all).
In a couple years, the BCA will be back in the black but the tradition of the 9 Ball Championships will remain six feet under. Cummings said that he would consider outsourcing the event to someone else, but we all know how well that works. Who are you gonna outsource it to? One of these chumps that hangs the cardboard signs throughout the arena and fills the rafters with guys in coveralls passing around a mason jar filled with moonshine?
If the new BCA Board President had any long term vision for the industry, he’d keep the tournament alive. I guess that’s what you get though when you ask someone who runs a boating company to head the BCA board. Its not like Brunswick has anything to do with pool anymore. Just read their annual report and you’ll see that there’s barely a mention of our beloved little industry. Hell, Brunswick doesn’t even break billiards out as a seperate categoy. They lump it in with their bowling division.
Sorry if I’m not my normal jovial self this morning. I swear I’ll return to the Castle Snarkdom soon, but pretty much everything about this announcement really rubs me the wrong way.
