This Week What To Decide? Racquetball and squash players continue to push their case for saving the courts at the JCC. SHARON LUCKERMAN Staff Writer *IN 6/7 2002 20 ith all their courts slated for demoli- tion this summer, the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center's squash and racquetball play- ers are not giving up without a fight. Lisa Woerdeman, 41, a racquetball player from West Bloomfield, said more than 40 players picket- ed outside the facility Saturday and Sunday, hold- ing signs that said: "Save the Courts." As the JCC goes into the final phase of its $33 million renovation and endowment, the JCC board has approved plans for a new health and fitness wing following a two-year process. Construction is set to begin later this summer. To create the planned modern open area, the center will elimi- nate all 16 courts: racquetball, handball, squash, double squash. Rebuilding courts elsewhere at the JCC would cost an additional $4 million, said JCC Executive Director David Sorkin. The courts take up space that will be used to create a fiscally competitive health club and fitness wing, a project initiated as a result of the Center's financial cri- sis in 1996. The JCC is counting on the $7 million renovation to make it more competitive in the health and fitness market. The JCC's health club membership has dropped from 1,800 to 1,500 the last two years. Woerdeman and 200 other racquetball/squash players are upset that the Center didn't consult with them "as soon as they started dickering about the courts two years ago," she said. The players learned of the plan to completely elimi- nate the 24,000 square feet of courts just two weeks ago. "Our only worry before this was how many courts we would have with the renovations. We never expected that all of them would be gone," Woerdeman , said. "The JCC didn't give us time to react.' Sorkin said he has the concerns of 10,000 JCC members and the entire Jewish community to con- sider. "We try to serve blocks of people in the com- munity," he said. "We've tried over the past couple years to include the courts. We thought we'd have some wiggle room." Woerdeman, an attorney-mediator, homemaker and mother of three, said the Center is not only a place to play racquetball. It became a refuge for her during a difficult time in her life. She started play- ing racquetball again three years ago, while her youngest son attended the JCC nursery school. "I simply showed up and before long the men had accepted me into their community. Playing with them helped me physically, spiritually and emotion- ally — just what the JCC is all about," she said. Eventually, Woerdeman and all three of her chil- dren, ages 14, 10 and 6, took up racquetball and swimming. "That's what the Center's for," she said. It's that and more, responds Hannan Lis of The racquetball-playing Woerdeman family hopes the JCC will reconsider eliminating the racquetball and squash courts. They are Danielle, 14; mom Lisa; Matthew, 10; an d, at bottom, Joshua, 6 Farmington Hills, a JCC vice president. "The JCC has other responsibilities it must balance with the needs of the racquetball/squash players," he said. Among them, he said, the West Bloomfield JCC has to make up the $400,000 annual shortfall in the oper- ation of the Oak Park JCC building, cover $150,000 in summer camp scholarships and spend $250,000 for serving adults and children with special needs. "In a nutshell, the Center takes care of many populations in need — non-moneymakers. To pro- vide cultural, educational and other opportunities for every Jew in the area, the health and fitness wing — [projected to be the JCC's biggest money- maker] — must be completed soon," Lis said. King Solomon's Solution? It may take a King Solomon to work through the multiple perspectives and factors of the controversy. Is it the story of David and Goliath — balancing a small, but loyal group of JCC members up to age 87 against the larger youth market, with its poten- tial for generating larger profit? Or is it about a self- interested group that should give up its 20-30 years of racquetball activity and camaraderie for the good of the larger community? Aware of the board's fiduciary responsibilities to the community, Lis said the JCC would continue losing money unless its health and fitness wing is renovated. The JCC operating budget is about $10 million. "The board finally voted a couple weeks ago and authorized the Center to proceed with the renova- tion plans, and they must go forward," he said. However, when the board holds its annual board meeting June 19, the renovations will be on the agen- da. "The plans are still under discussion," Lis said. "We're reviewing the options. The board is appraised of the plight of the court players, and is looking for fund-raising possibilities for the issues raised and to finish the project." Players were told a two-story addition could pro- vide eight courts, but comes with a $4 million price tag — above and beyond the $7 million earmarked for the health and fitness construction. The expec- tation is that players would help fund-raise. Predicting A Trend The West Bloomfield JCC is not the only Center replacing its racquetball/squash courts for some- thing more viable and profitable. "Centers around the country are taking racquet- ball courts and turning them into aerobic studios and areas for free weights and personal training,"