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Jul-19-2006
Devine Sports To Close Central Office; Events to Be Managed Locally
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
Devine Sports, the Chicago-based road race managment firm which owns the City of Los Angeles and New Las Vegas Marathons, is in the process of closing it's central office, Race Results Weekly has learned.
"Everyone is being told 'pack-up, see you,'" a terminated Devine employee told RRW in a brief telephone interview today.
The employee explained that Devine will continue to own their four road racing properties, which also include the Chicago Half-Marathon and Salt Lake City Marathon, but they will be managed locally. The employee pointed out that the local staff of their biggest property, the City of Los Angeles Marathon, had remained essentially unchanged after Devine had purchased it.
"The events still go on," the employee said.
Devine Sports had about a dozen employees in their Chicago office at 980 Michigan Ave., including President and CEO, Steve Miller, a former Nike executive. Miller will be going on vaction in August, and his employment at Devine will officially end when the vacation concludes, the employee said. A few people responsible for marketing and public relations will stay on board through the Chicago Half-Marathon which is Sunday, October 1.
The firm has recently come under fire for paying athletes and agents very slowly after the New Las Vegas Marathon which was held last December 4. With 8031 finishers, good media coverage and a solid elite field, the event seemed on its way to becoming an a top fixture in U.S. marathoning. However, on April 26, RRW was contacted by one agent who wrote, "I ...just thought you should know that as far as I know, Devine Racing and the Las Vegas Marathon have yet to pay any of their airfares or prize money, as we now approach the 5 month mark after the race."
On May 31, the same agent sent an e-mail to Devine CEO Steve Miller demanding payment, providing a copy to RRW. "It is my understanding that your group is making a total botch of payments, with some athletes or agents receiving airfare reimbursements, some receiving prize money, some receiving both, and some (such as myself) receiving nothing," wrote the agent. The agent later told RRW that he received a FedEx with his payment two days later. The payment was not accompanied by an explanatory letter.
In a recent article in the industry newsletter, Road Race Management (RRM), reporter Jim Hage asked Miller about the late payments at Las Vegas. Miller told RRM that as of June 13 everyone who had won money at Las Vegas had been paid. "When we did our budgeting, we anticipated making payments on bills three and four months out," Miller told RRM. "There are always issues with payment," said Miller who added, "We're a year away from profitability."
Devine Sports was co-founded by Chris Devine in 2003 with a business partner, Bruce Buzil, according to a history of the company posted on its website. The firm established the Salt Lake City Marathon in 2004, and acquired the Chicago Half-Marathon next. Later in 2004, Devine acquired the City of Los Angeles Marathon from Dr. Bill Burke and Marie Patrick, and purchased the Las Vegas Marathon --traditionally held in February-- and turned it into the New Las Vegas Marathon which made its debut last December.
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