Sports Museum of America closes its doors

Less than a year after it's grand opening, the Sports Museum of America has closed its doors. On May 6, 2008, I attended the opening of the Sports Museum of America in downtown Manhattan. There were actually two openings -- one during the daytime with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Eli Manning, Billie Jean King and other dignitaries, and another during the evening with more sports figures and celebrities, including Oksana Baiul. (View my coverage at both events here.)  The museum partnered with more than 60 sports halls of fame, including the World Figure Skating Museum & Hall of Fame, to showcase treasured memorabilia and was also the new home of the Heisman Trophy. In mid-February 2009, the Board of Directors decided to end this money-losing venture and the museum closed last week. Currently, the board is asking $10 million to any prospective buyer; otherwise, the memorabilia will be returned to the owners and/or the museums where they came from.

What a bummer and the concept was such a good one too! Consider this -- a place to see the breadth of all the great sports America participates in and not just baseball, basketball and football. There was a great interactive section highlighting the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center and even a figure skating exhibit with Kristi's Olympic dress, Sasha's Olympic skates, and much more. The only criticism I had was the admission price -- at $27 per adult and going down to $20 for children, this was a pretty expensive museum to take the family. You had two levels of museum-y stuff to see and do but would visitors shell out this much money? With the economy in a tailspin, I guess the answer was no.

This week's New York magazine has listed some items from the museum's collection that will be returned, including (see illustration below, from left to right):

• Lace-up basketball from the early-twentieth century, on loan from the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Souvenir boxing glove signed by Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier to promote their second fight at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 1974
• Tony Hawk’s trophy from a 1979 youth skateboarding competition in which he placed second
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s helmet from the 2001 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, his last race with his father, Dale Sr., who died in a crash later that month

Oksana Baiul at opening of Sports Museum of America

On May 6, 2008, the Sports Museum of America (SmA) opened in lower Manhattan with great fanfare. Founded by Philip Schwalb and Sameer Ahuja, SmA is the U.S.'s first museum of its kind to bring together over 25 different sports under one roof. You name it --  figure skating, NASCAR, fishing, lacrosse, hockey, football, softball -- any sport you can think of, SmA will have something interesting  on it.

I attended both the opening day ceremony and the evening gala and what a thrill it was to see our sports heroes from all disciplines gathered together! For the night gala, Olympic and World champion Oksana Baiul (see below) arrived with producer and friend Frank D'Agostino. Oksana is currently rehearsing for Cold as Ice, which Frank conceived and co-wrote. Cold as Ice is a musical about three figure skaters hoping to make it to the Olympics, and Oksana plays "Maya." In the show, she skates (of course), acts, and sings(!), which she found "much easier" than skating. Frank also told me that Oksana's work ethic is unparalleled - first person to arrive at rehearsal and last person to leave. Look for Cold as Ice to make its Broadway debut at the end of the year/beginning of 2009.

By the way, this is how gracious Oksana is towards skaters and skating fans, or as she calls us, "my people." I was at the very end of the press line, Oksana and Frank were running late, and when they arrived, they made a beeline for me, knowing that I was waiting to speak to them. After my interview with them, they then doubled back to address the beginning of the press line.

Other sports figures who attended the evening gala included basketball and football greats, such as Earl "the Pearl" Monroe (who brought his lovely wife Marita, and their beautiful daughter, Maya), Charles Smith, John Starks, Rick Barry, Tony Dorsett, Justin Tuck, as well as Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug, jockey Edgar Prado (who won the 2006 Kentucky Derby), cyclist Alison Dunlap, champion water skier Camille Duval-Hero, and track and field greats Bruce Jenner and Carl Lewis, to name just a few. The night gala also included many nonsports celebrities, such as Molly Sims (model/actress from Las Vegas), Judah Friedlander (actor/comedian from 30 Rock), Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart, musicians G. Love, and actor Lonny Ross (also from 30 Rock).

Opening of Sports Museum of America

On May 6, 2008, the Sports Museum of America (SmA) opened in lower Manhattan with great fanfare. SmA partnered with more than 50 single sport Halls of Fame and other athletic organizations to showcase treasured memorabilia and exhibits and to tell the stories of our sports heroes through interactive exhibits and videos. Partners include the National Basketball Hall of Fame, NASCAR, the United States Tennis Association, USA Track & Field, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the United States Golf Association, USA Hockey and of course, the World Figure Skating Museum & Hall of Fame. In addition to hosting the first women's sports hall of fame, SmA is also the new home of the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center and the legendary Heisman Trophy. Founded by Philip Schwalb and Sameer Ahuja, SmA is the U.S.'s first museum of its kind to bring together over 25 different sports under one roof.

I attended both the opening ceremony and the evening gala and what a thrill it was to see our sports heroes from all disciplines gathered together! The opening ceremony started off with a welcome by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The emcee for the event was none other than Jim Craig, goalie for the United States in the Miracle on Ice, when the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the team from the Soviet Union. (Remember the line "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" It came from sportcaster Al Michaels calling the game.) Jim introduced Eli Manning, Rick Barry, Bonnie Blair, Dick Button, Bud Collins, Bob Cousy, Tony Dorsett, Walt Frazier, Camille Duvall-Hero, Ron Harper, Bruce Jenner, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Pat LaFontaine, Patrick McEnroe, Carl Lewis, Charles Smith, John Starks, and many more figures who've made significant contributions to their respective sports.

Inside SmA, visitors are greeted with the first gallery entitled "Dreaming Big," which shows videos and photographs of athletes, such as Magic Johnson, Venus Williams, and Michelle Kwan, in their youth. There is also an immersion theater that wraps around the room where you can see gymnast Kerri Strug's famous vault from the 1996 Olympic Summer Games and Hank Aaron's 715th home run, among others, in a very high tech environment. Visitors are also treated to lots and lots of treasured memorabilia and artifacts, such as Jackie Robinson's cap, and the U.S.A. flag that Jim Craig wrapped around him after his team defeated the Soviet Union.   

The figure skating section includes a nice tribute to 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, great video of Michelle Kwan, and displays of Kristi Yamaguchi's skating dress at the 1992 Winter Olympics where she won gold, Sasha Cohen's skates from the 2006 Winter Olympics, and Dick Button's figure skating jacket. Hockey great Pat LaFontaine also said some nice words about figure skating when I spoke with him. Overall, they did a great job for the figure skating fan, and I also used the opportunity to roam around and learn about fishing, softball and NASCAR!

I'll be back with some great footage from the opening night gala, which was attended by sports and nonsports celebrities. For all you Oksana Baiul fans, she promised to speak to me first at the press line, because as she puts it, "You're a figure skater, you're my people."

Sports Museum of America
26 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
(212) 747-0900

Admission prices (hold onto your hats, this is not cheap)
Adults (15-59): $27
Seniors (60+) and students: $24
Children (4-14): $20
Children under 4: FREE