This low-cost club has taught Boise kids to box for 50 years. Now its future is in doubt
The Vista PAL Boxing Club opened in 1970. Now, after half a century of making a difference in the lives of youngsters on the Boise Bench, its future is uncertain.
The club will lose its lease at 5342 W. Franklin Road at the end of November, owner Zachary Lopez said. He is unsure he can find a new space to lease affordably.
PAL stands for Police Activities League. The Vista PAL club is associated with the Boise PAL, which supports activities for children and teens.
The club has leased the building since 1985 through a partnership with Fred Meyer, the grocery and department-store chain that owns the property next to its store at Franklin Road and Orchard Street. Earlier this year, Fred Meyer informed the club that it planned to sell the land where the gym is.
“Fred Meyer has been a huge support for us over the years,” Lopez said. “Real estate is booming, and they have sold the land to another business.”
He said the gym has provided a place for families that don’t have a lot of money. It charged Idaho kids $10 a month, including equipment, training and coaching.
“We’re probably the lowest-cost sport in Meridian or Boise that I’m aware of,” he said.
The club had been working to find a new building to lease when it was hit by the pandemic last March and closed to keep the kids safe. It sits empty now, with all its equipment in storage.
Rising real estate prices and the uncertainty of COVID-19 create doubt about the future, even if Lopez does find a new location.
“If COVID shuts us down, that could bankrupt me, and I don’t know that we could do that,” he said. “As much as I love the sport, I don’t know how much I can risk my own home for that.”
“My biggest fear is going to be the cost of the lease — just with the changing of real estate and times, and how much more it is going to be,” Lopez said. “If I have to pass that cost on, so many kids are not going to be able to do it and not be involved.”
Lopez joined the club when he was a kid. Years later he became a coach.
“It’s kind of funny how many of us grew up and are still in the sport,” he said. “Victorious or defeat, it is learning.”
The Vista PAL Boxing Club is not going down without a fight. Lopez said it will work to create fundraisers.
“Now you see it’s just a shell of a building,” he said. “It’s sad, yeah, you can get emotional looking at it. But hopefully it is an indication of bigger and better things moving on.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 4:00 AM.