Sports Oasis serves up indoor volleyball

BROOMFIELD — Sports Oasis co-founders Karl Baines and Bob Knox love volleyball, and they hope their passion for the sport will catch on with others.

On Jan. 19, the duo opened the Sports Oasis — an indoor volleyball facility in Broomfield that offers four sand courts, three hard courts and a small restaurant/bar. As an alternative to what local recreation centers offer, they intend to hold leagues for adults, clinics for juniors and provide times for drop-in play.

“Most rec centers have volleyball as sort of an afterthought,” Baines said. “We have a product that exceeds what city rec departments are offering.”

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Baines and Knox first became friends while playing the sport in the early 1980s. Through volleyball, Baines also met his wife, Bonnie, 22 years ago, and Knox found Kellie Dexter, his wife of 12 years.

They began pursuing the idea for the Sports Oasis in January 2003. To validate the need for a volleyball-only facility, they conducted research and found enough information to verify what they believed to be a significant market opportunity. From their due diligence, they learned that a similar facility, called The Island, was already in place in southeast Denver. In operation for six years, The Island has six sand courts with a restaurant/bar and draws players for its leagues from as far away as Estes Park, Baines said.

Volleyball haven

Using $400,000 and 1,200 tons of sand, the two converted a 32,000-square-foot office warehouse at Main Street and West 116th Avenue into a haven for volleyball.

With adult leagues expected to fill evenings, the Sports Oasis also plans to offer clinics for junior players during the afternoons. Baines validated the need for such clinics based on the fact that, on average, about 100 students try out for high school volleyball teams but two-thirds of those do not make it.

“There is a huge number of players who don’t have anywhere to go to play,” he said. The clinics would be available to all skill levels for those trying to learn the sport.

Additionally, Baines said the Sports Oasis would host senior volleyball events in the mornings and target area companies for players to participate on lunchtime leagues. Baines added that he forecasts the business to turn profitable after its first year.

To date, enrollment in the adult leagues has been less than hoped for, which Baines attributed, in part, to timing. “We couldn’t be sure of when we were going to open until mid- to late December, and by that time many had already signed up for their winter leagues,” he said.

Yet, according to the United States Volleyball Association (USA Volleyball), the slow enrollment also may be due to a declining number of participants in adult leagues.

“The number of teams has actually been decreasing over the past several years,´ said Wendy Sapp of the Rocky Mountain Region of USA Volleyball. The Rocky Mountain Region of USA Volleyball organizes competitive tournaments around the Denver metro area, including four tournaments annually in Boulder.

From 2003 to 2004, the number of registered six-person teams of women dropped from 44 to 40, while the number of men’s teams decreased from 28 to 21, she said. Sapp credited the decline to several reasons, including increased competition for the entertainment dollar and a tighter economy that has strapped the extra income of potential players.

No decline

Meanwhile, at Boulder Parks and Recreation, Teri Olander, athletic administrator, said that although adult league participation has not grown, it has at least held steady for the last 10 years with approximately 75 six-person teams during the winter season.

“Interest in the adult volleyball leagues has leveled off, which happens to all sports,” she said.

“But (volleyball) hasn’t experienced a decline like other sports, such as softball, perhaps because people can play it longer.”

For junior players, Boulder Parks and Recreation also offers a volleyball program that has grown each year since it was introduced four years ago. During the first year, the department allotted $400 for the program. By 2003, the budget grew to $13,000 to cover expenses for coaches, tournament awards and officials. Currently, 50 to 60 students play each season in the year-round program.

Going forward, Olander hopes that the Sports Oasis and Boulder Parks and Recreation will be able to partner so that their junior programs might be able to play against one another as a means to improve their games.

As for whether she is concerned that the Sports Oasis might lure away some mainstay players, Olander said Boulder Parks and Recreation is used to increased competition due to the new recreation centers that open in surrounding communities every year.

“There will be the possibility that people will want to go down to Broomfield. The Sports Oasis offers different surfaces, and people will want to go try it out,” Olander said. “But hopefully we can co-exist and both be successful.”