Open house thrills scores

'Beautiful' was one of the adjectives used to describe the new downtown arena.
By KATIE LIBECCO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- After years of talk and planning, Mahoning Valley residents got their first look at the new $45 million Youngstown Convocation Center during an open house.
And the overall reaction could be summed up in what Kerry Geraci of Youngstown had to say:
"The convocation center is so beautiful, I can't believe that it's downtown Youngstown. It's as nice as being in the Gund [Arena in Cleveland]. There's not a bad seat in the house."
A small crowd gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday morning marking the center's opening.
By afternoon, the thousands of people were touring the facility and being entertained by a continuous schedule of local bands and entertainers.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and Youngstown Mayor George McKelvey were among several city and state officials speaking at the opening.
Also on hand were representatives of Global Entertainment, which is operating the convocation center -- Rick Kozuback, president and CEO, and Jeff Kossow, arena executive director.
As the ceremony concluded, Claire Maluso, the city's Federal Plaza director, announced that Anthony Lariccia of Boardman donated $30,000 to a Youngstown Streetscape project dedicated to light the downtown area.
"With the power of all of us, nothing is impossible," Lariccia noted in his short speech.
Thanks to Traficant
Many of the speakers thanked James A. Traficant Jr., the former nine-term congressman and now a federal prisoner, who obtained about $26.8 million in federal funding for the arena's construction.
"He bought the dream; he bought this vision," McKelvey said in his speech.
"I feel bad for Jim. He gave me my start in politics. I love his family. I still talk to his mother," Ryan said.
"The bottom line is he got the money for this facility, and it's here."
Ryan said he plans to attend the Tony Bennett concert Oct. 30 but wasn't sure if he would be in town for the Barenaked Ladies concert Dec. 5.
"I'd love to see Dave Matthews Band play a nice acoustic set," Ryan added.
Ryan also discussed future plans to revitalize downtown, including the creation of an ethnic village near the convocation center.
"I hope the community will use this as an opportunity to bring people downtown," Ryan said.
"I think the key is to use the center as a magnet for people from the suburbs."
Gushing with excitement
Sisters Helen and Irene Rossi of Campbell were anxious to see the new center.
"I never expected it would be this beautiful," Helen Rossi said.
They are planning to attend ice shows at the area because they travel to Cleveland and Pittsburgh to see such shows.
"This is just what Youngstown needs," Helen Rossi said. "I just hope that that everything goes smoothly and everyone supports it."
"It's gorgeous; I am totally impressed. We have a real arena right here in Youngstown," said State Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty Township, D-32nd.
Bob Barko Jr., owner of downtown Youngstown's Steel Town Studios, attended the open house with his sister Kerry Geraci.
"We've been downtown for nearly five years, and we've been waiting for this. It will hopefully be a catalyst to bring people downtown and be an anchor in the downtown mall," Barko said.
"We're looking to get a lot of new neighbors."
Barko said he had season tickets and planned to attend the concerts that were scheduled.
Many other arena visitors said they were impressed with the center.
"I couldn't wait for this open house to come. I watched it grow from the foundation up," Struthers resident Don Barnhart said. "I'm tickled with the location, and it looks like it's going to be successful. I can't say enough."
'Beyond my wildest dreams'
McKelvey voiced his excitement over the center's opening.
"I am completely overwhelmed. I had expectations, but they weren't this high. This is beyond my wildest dreams," McKelvey said. "This is fabulous, and this is Youngstown, Ohio."
McKelvey added that he hoped the "wow effect" of the arena's open house would help draw more people to the center.
"One person is going to tell three, and they'll tell more people. We're going to run out of seats," he said.
Speaking of seats, Jim Loboy, part of HOT 101's wake-up crew, spent a good part of the arena's opening day testing all 5,500 of the arena's seats.
"It's fun! The radio station came up with this as our way of showing our appreciation for the center and everyone who put their bit in," he said.
Loboy admitted the task was overwhelming.
"Whatever the last seat is, wherever it is, that will be the best one," Loboy said. "This isn't as easy as it looks."