Saratoga Business Journal - April 2021

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SARATOGA BUSINESS JOURNAL

Saratoga County SBJ P.O. Box 766 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

VOL. 26 NO. 02

HH The Business Newspaper of Saratoga County HH

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

GLENS FALLS, NY 12801 PERMIT #600

APRIL 2021

www.saratogabusinessjournal.com

Saratoga’s Community Federal Credit Union SUNY Empire State College This Year Opens Branch, Adds Services, In Ballston Spa Marks 50 Years Of Academic Achievements BY JILL NAGY Saratoga’s Community Federal Credit Union has opened a new office in Ballston Spa and added new services, including a new mortgage service division. The Ballston Spa office opened in February. The new branch is located at 444 Geyser Road, at the intersection of Geyser and Roland Street, in the center of the town of Milton. The Geyser Road office is a full-service branch, including a drive-through window, a 24-hour ATM and an Interactive Teller Machine (ITM). The new office is a single-story, red brick building with 2,500 square of space. Interior renovations were completed by Munter Enterprises Inc. of Middle Grove. Work began in December and was completed in February. This is the credit union’s second location; the first is at 23 Division Street in Saratoga Springs. The ITM is an enhanced ATM. On the system, a customer can get a staff person, live, on a video screen by pressing a “help” button. The ITM hours will be longer than regular branch hours, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. While an ATM is intended for cash withdrawals, balance inquiries and transfers, customers can call up an ITM online teller for deposits, credit card payments, loan payments, as well as questions. The new machine has not yet gotten much of a workout, according to Megan Armstrong, chief operations officer for the credit union, because “members are coming in the front door to see the new building and say hello.” Through Saratoga Mortgage, a new service of the credit union, the new branch will focus on helping members with their mortgage needs. The new focus moves mortgage services from the back

Don Denofio and Megan Armstrong of Saratoga’s Community Federal Credit Union. ©2021 SaratogaPhotographer.com

office to the forefront of the facility, according to Armstrong. Patti Montgomery, a mortgage loan originator, heads the new division. She brings more than 15 years of experience in the field of mortgage financing. Saratoga’s Community Federal Credit Union was created in 1945 by a group of Saratoga Springs educators. It provides a range of services including student loans, auto financing, and savings and retirement plans, in addition to the mortgage services. The credit union can be accessed online at www.sartogafcu.org; the mortgage service website is www.saratogamortgage.org. The telephone is 518 583-2323.

SUNY Empire State College is celebrating 50 years of academic achievements and excellence throughout 2021. Founded in 1971, SUNY Empire State began as a bold re-imagining of higher education, one focused on increasing accessibility and opportunities for students. Officials said that for the past five decades, SUNY Empire has transformed the face of student-centered, accessible, equitable education, ushering in a world of possibilities for busy adult learners. The college began utilizing mail-in correspondence and satellite feeds in the 1970s and was one of the first to move to internet-based and blended coursework in the mid-1990s. Since then, SUNY Empire has been at the forefront of distance and online education and continues to explore new pathways for students of all ages to pursue their educational and career aspirations. SUNY Empire’s mission aligns with that of the State University of New York’s, which aims to provide students with accessibility to the highest quality academic, professional, and vocational programs, officials said. During his State of the University System address, SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras not only highlighted SUNY Empire graduate student Nelson de Jesus Castilla Jr., who became the first Latino deputy police chief to serve on Stony Brook’s security team while pursuing his master’s degree at SUNY Empire, but he spoke of the recently announced SUNY for All campaign. SUNY developed the program for economically struggling New Yorkers, and to increase access and support for our nation’s servicemembers and veterans, while also expanding micro-credential courses for lifelong learning. Upon completion, students will be

Founded in 1971, SUNY Empire State is celebrating its 50th year in operation. automatically accepted to any of SUNY’s 30 community colleges or SUNY Empire, with application and orientation fees waived. “SUNY Empire State College continues to experience remarkable growth, from new programs and academic partnerships to state-ofthe-art technologic advancements,” said SUNY Empire State College Officer-in-Charge Nathan Gonyea. “The first 50 years was just the beginning. We are constantly finding ways to engage our students, to develop new academic programs, and to ensure students are fully supported academically and personally while completing their education. SUNY Empire’s nearly 90,000 alumni and 16,000 current students make us Continued On Page 4

Fox Sports Expands Partnership Agreement Golf Simulator Company Has Plans To Open With NYRA To Televise 2021 Track Season Two New Facilities In Saratoga County FOX Sports, a unit of Fox Corp. and the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) have developed an expanded partnership agreement that establishes FOX Sports as the official wagering partner of NYRA Bets and the leading media provider for elite thoroughbred racing through the next decade. The prior FOX Sports/NYRA media rights agreement provided a FOX Sports subsidiary with an option to acquire a 25 percent stake in NYRA Bets LLC. The FOX Sports subsidiary will exercise this option by the summer of 2021, pending final regulatory approval. The newly announced agreement provides a FOX Sports subsidiary with a future opportunity to increase its equity interest in NYRA Bets. As an unprecedented year interrupted live sports around the world, horse racing operated safely and continuously. Under the new deal, FOX Sports expects to air at least 700 hours of coverage each year from Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course and, outside of prior commitments, gives the network exclusive national broadcast rights at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course through 2030. NYRA will serve as the production arm for all horse racing events during the term of the partnership. NYRA and FOX Sports began their collaboration during the first season of Saratoga Live during the 2016 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course. The critically acclaimed show, broadcast daily from the grounds of Saratoga, aired 80 hours of live coverage on FS2 and coincided with the national launch of NYRA

FOX Sports and NYRA have developed an expanded partnership agreement. Courtesy NYRA

Bets. Since then, total coverage has grown to more than 700 hours in 2020. Along with Saratoga Live, FOX Sports’ NYRA television portfolio includes America’s Day At The Races, airing in the spring, summer, fall and select dates throughout the winter racing season. Officials said NYRA Bets achieved record growth in 2020, as new fans engaged with horse racing by watching an unparalleled amount of coverage across FOX Sports’ family of networks. Driven by a dramatic expansion in this live Continued On Page 4

BY CHRISTINE GRAF The Bunker, a Guilderland-based business that offer golfers the opportunity to use golf simulator technology in an indoor, country club-like setting, has plans to open additional locations in Clifton Park and Malta. Owners Troy Miller and Burl McCutcheon will invest approximately $1 million to get both sites up and running. Because there are tenants currently occupying both existing spaces, exact addresses will not be released until next month, they said. According to Miller, both are centrally located near exits 9 and 12 of the Northway. Miller is the owner and broker at CM Fox Real Estate and also owns Troy Miller Construction. In his free time, he is an avid golfer. “I’ve been in the development world, and when golf and my past development work collided, out came the Bunker,” he said. The 4,000-square-foot Guilderland location opened at the end of 2019 in the CM Fox Real Estate building at 2390 Western Turnpike. Before being temporarily shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, business exceeded expectations and plans for expansion were already underway, he said. Construction in Malta and Clifton Park will begin this summer and both businesses are expected to open in the fall. Each 6,000-square-foot space will feature seven TrackMan 18-foot widescreen hitting bays.

This is The Bunker, a Guilderland-based business that has golf simulator technology. Nicole McCutcheon

“TrackMan technology is kind of the Rolls Royce of simulation. They are used all throughout the PGA, and pro players use it,” said Miller. “The technology has finally gotten to the point that it’s very accurate to what you would be doing outdoors. Everything is identical to the outdoor game.” The simulators have a price tag of approximately $20,000 each and feature dual radar technology that tracks “launch Continued On Page 6


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