četvrtak, 10.03.2011.
Soccer club planning to buy Bavarian Inn property
The Bavarian Soccer Club plans to buy a 14-acre property that includes Glendale's Bavarian Inn restaurant, leading the City of Glendale to drop a similar purchase plan, City Administrator Richard Maslowski said Wednesday.
The soccer club is one of five German culture clubs that make up United German Societies, which owns the Bavarian Inn as well as Old Heidelberg Park and some adjacent soccer fields.
The soccer club will create a new business plan for the Bavarian Inn, which has seen a decline in business in recent years, said Cathy Shaw, club president. She said the club plans to maintain the park, which hosts an annual Oktoberfest, and the soccer fields.
The purchase is scheduled to close Friday.
In February, the Glendale Common Council voted unanimously to authorize a negotiated purchase agreement.
The council wanted to prevent the property, which is west of I-43 and north of W. Lexington Blvd., from being sold at a March 14 sheriff's auction. That sale was set to satisfy a $1.2 million foreclosure judgment owed to Mitchell Bank by Deutsches Land Inc., an affiliate of United German Societies.
A foreclosure sale could put the property in the control of a development firm, which could replace the current uses with new residential and commercial buildings, Maslowski said.
City officials want to ensure that the soccer fields and park are maintained as community amenities, Maslowski said.
Since then, city officials have met with Bavarian Soccer Club officials and the club's financial backers, and believe the club's plan to buy and maintain the property will be successful, Maslowski said.
The Bavarian Inn has scaled back its operations over the past two years. It's now open on just Tuesday and Friday nights, along with being available for wedding receptions and other special events.
The restaurant will be open to the general public Friday, and for a private event on Saturday, said John Klingseisen, president of the United German Societies board of directors. But the fate of the business after those days will depend in part on whether the soccer club is able to complete its purchase, he said.
The Bavarian Inn has faced higher expenses, including a long court battle with Glendale over its property taxes.
In 1999, the state Supreme Court denied tax-exempt status for the property and ruled that tax-exempt groups must prove their properties are used for benevolent purposes. Glendale officials say much of the Deutsches Land property is used for a business purpose through the operation of the Bavarian Inn, which includes a bar and banquet facilities.
