Former Gannon soccer player and sports park co-owner found dead in Chicago hotel
Sheldon van Deventer, one of the co-owners of Erie Sports Park, and Declan Bingham, a former Gannon soccer player and a son of his business partner, Troy Bingham, were found dead Saturday morning in a Chicago hotel room.
The victims, including van Deventer, 45, of the 600 block of West Ninth Street, and Bingham, 24, of the 500 block of Myrtle Street, were identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner in Chicago. According to the Medical Examiner's Office, the two were found Saturday morning inside a Hyatt Regency hotel in the Chicago area. The time of death was estimated to be 9:01 a.m.
A report from Chicago Police provided a different timeline, but the same set of facts.
According to police, at about 6:59 a.m. Saturday, "Two victims, a 45-year-old male and a 24-year-old male were discovered unresponsive by hotel staff. Lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful and both victims were pronounced on scene."
Police said detectives are investigating. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said the cause of death is pending.
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In a social media post, Troy Bingham, who purchased a portion of the former Family First Sports Park at the end of September, wrote: "It is with the heaviest of hearts that I confirm the loss yesterday of my partner and my son due to a tragic accident. The impact is immense and we are busy dealing with the grief. The Erie Sports Center will remain open and further information will be posted soon."
In response to a voicemail left by the Erie Times-News, Bingham said in a text message Monday that he was not yet ready to talk.
Declan Bingham, a former soccer team captain who was described by the team's Twitter account as one of the most successful Gannon soccer players of all time, graduated in 2020, University spokesman Doug Oathout said.
He said Gannon men's and women's soccer teams elected to cancel games that had been scheduled for Sunday out of respect for their lost teammate.
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Bingham said in September that scholarships to play soccer at Gannon brought both him and his business partner, both natives of South Africa, to Erie at different times. Troy Bingham said it was his sons, both of whom played soccer at Gannon, that brought Bingham and his family back to Erie to reunite their family.
Bingham said he was a fan of Family First during his college days and was surprised to see thatthe facility was available.
He and van Deventer paid $1.3 million cash to buy what had been known as Golf Dome, a dozen outdoor soccer fields and the former Fun Zone from Greater Regional Erie Athletic Team Training. A separate group of buyers purchased the ice hockey facility and other portions of the park in Summit Township.
"This is our new hometown for the foreseeable future," Bingham said. "This is a sizable investment andwe want to see this project through. We have a three-year plan to bring this park back to what itwas."
In addition to his ownership stake in the park, van Deventer is the owner of Erie-based Tech Excellence.
Declan Bingham, who earned an MBA in supply chain management from Gannon, has been employed at Tech Excellence as a business operations specialist since February 2021, according to his Linkedin profile.
Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNMartin.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Two Erie men found dead in Chicago hotel room; police investigating