Pursuit of an arena an exercise in futility

Nothing has changed since the following words appeared in this space seven months ago: "It's time to end the arena silliness." Yet, today, some members of Youngstown City Council still cling to the notion that a convocation/community center built with a federal grant is the region's economic holy grail.
It isn't, and it's time to end this silliness -- once and for all.
Spending the $25 million that's left of a $26.8 million federal grant secured by former Congressman James A. Traficant Jr. on an arena when the money could better be used on real economic development projects begs the question: "What gives?"
Certainly nothing to the city. In fact, Youngstown government will be doing all the giving and getting peanuts in return.
Councilman Artis Gillam, D-1st, is leading the charge for the construction of an arena, and he wants a contract to be signed in two weeks.
Youngstown Mayor George M. Mc-Kelvey says he's not going to sign anything any time soon having to do with an arena. The mayor should stick to his guns because he has the right take on this issue.
McKelvey says the failure of a private developer to step forward with a match for the federal grant is proof positive that such a facility is a financial loser.
Indeed, because the original plan to build an 8,000- to 10,000-seat facility at a cost of at least $50 million has fallen through, the mayor is willing to put up $8 million if an investor is interested in building a smaller facility.
McKelvey is not prepared to spend the entire $25 million on a 5,400-seat arena and then contract with some company to operate it. But that's what Councilman Gillam wants to do.
Jobs
He says spending the $25 million is a great investment because of the jobs that will be created. But the reality, based on the experience in other communities, is that there will only be a handful of full-time positions. At most, 20 such jobs may be created. The rest would be temporary, such as construction, and part-time, such as those related to events that are held.
And although Gillam believes the company running the arena will hold the city harmless as far as the operation and maintenance costs are concerned, what guarantee does he have that the operator won't board up the facility if it finds it cannot make any money?
Just because some town in Texas has a 5,000-seat arena doesn't mean the city of Youngstown should spend a once-in-a-lifetime gift from Congress on such a project.
Mayor McKelvey is right in arguing that if this were such a financial boon, developers would be lining up to match the grant and to grab the land between the Market Street and South Avenue bridges that the city paid $1.5 million to own. That's where Gillam wants to build the arena.
What about the other members of council? They aren't sure what to do, especially now that the president of Youngstown State University, Dr. David Sweet, has put another proposal on the table.
Sweet and McKelvey announced last week that they're discussing the possibility of the city's investing $8 million to transform Beeghly Center on the YSU campus into a convention facility to be used by the university and the community at large. It would be renovated to accommodate more than 5,000 people for sporting events and other entertainment, such as concerts.
While the details of the project are still being unveiled and lawmakers are evaluating the benefits to the region -- there also is talk of reopening the Wick-Pollock Inn -- the prospect of Youngstown's being able to use the rest of the $25 million on job-creation projects should excite every thoughtful taxpayer.
Ohio Sens. Mike DeWine and George V. Voinovich will be introducing legislation to give the mayor and council the flexibility to make downtown revitalization a reality.
Truth
That is why Councilman Gillam's pursuit of an arena paid for entirely with public dollars does not add up. He should remember this truth: Successful private developers do not get that way by making foolish investments. They look to governments to build sports arenas -- with taxpayer money. They follow a simple rule: Let government take all the financial risks, and we'll take all the financial benefits.
By contrast, the Beeghly renovation project is worth exploring because the university would bear the cost of operating and maintaining the convention center -- without Youngstown city government having to raid its already leaky treasury or being stuck with a white elephant.