The lights are out, but that hasn't stopped some children from playing ball at Renegade Sports in Lynn Haven. Bay Haven sixth grader Brandon Bascetta says, "When I heard about Renegade closing, I was just so devastated, just like, 'No, this can't be right.'"

Renegade opened its doors in 2005 and served almost 150,000 customers the first year. But, declining membership forced the owners to temporarily close, as Gulf Power cut off the electricity. That leaves many in our community without a place to play sports and socialize with their peers.

Bay Haven sixth grader Kyle Hudson says, "I really like it because it keeps kids active, it also is a great way to have fun with your friends."

Home school student Stephen Gavarinski says, "Especially being home-schooled, not having very many friends on the computer where I do school that live in this county, to just come here and meet new people."

The children say Renegade keeps some from getting into trouble on the streets. Bay Haven sixth grader Tony Servidio says, "A lot of kids that don't have as much as some of us do here, they come here and instead of getting in bad stuff, they can express their feelings by sports instead of bad things."

The Hitchcocks, who own Renegade, were meeting with potential investors Wednesday. They are asking for community support to help them weather the economic storm.

The children say they are doing everything they can to raise awareness, so they can keep their 'safe place' open.

Renegade Sports supporters are holding a car wash at the Wendy's on State Road 77 at 11:00 on Sunday to help raise money for the complex.