A bar in Gainesville’s Midtown recently closed its doors, and it’s unclear when the bar will reopen.
Balls, located at 1716 W. University Ave., currently has a revoked liquor license, according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
“I was there around the end of April,” said Avery Guyton, a 21-year-old UF Spanish and public relations senior. “It had to of closed just a couple weeks ago.”
William Chick opened the sports bar in 1989, according to his obituary in The Gainesville Sun.
Chick died Feb. 14, 2013, but he is still listed as the bar’s director on the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations’ website.
Max Schmidt, a 22-year-old UF aerospace engineering fifth-year student, said he visited the bar in March and heard about the impending closure from a bartender.
He said in a text message that the license was never renewed after Chick died, and it could cost about $200,000 to pay for late fees and a new license.
Manager Tim Blakey could not be reached for comment as of press time.
Guyton said he hopes Balls, a place where he finds the area’s cheapest drinks until midnight, will reopen soon, but he doubts the doors will open until Fall.
“It smells a little bit and people get pretty rowdy,” he said, “but it’s a 21-and-up bar, so you don’t have little freshman trying to take your space.”
