CONVOCATION CENTER Arena to open on a good note with legendary singer Bennett

Tickets will go on sale Saturday morning.
By GUY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's new arena will open with a legend.
Tony Bennett will take the stage Oct. 30 in what will be the first public event at the Youngstown Convocation Center, arena officials announced Tuesday.
Jeff Kossow, executive director of the arena, called the Bennett concert "the perfect event" to open the new facility. "We tried to touch on all demographics" when selecting the inaugural act, he said.
Kossow said the announcement is "an excellent way to showcase the kind of entertainment people can expect from the Convocation Center."
Bennett will be accompanied by the Tony Bennett Trio.
Ticket information
Tickets, which will be $75 for Gold Circle seats and $45 for reserved, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Cash or credit cards will be accepted.
A temporary box office has been set up in the City Centre One Building, at Champion and East Federal streets, downtown. The box office, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, will move to the arena once it opens.
Tickets for Bennett's performance and all arena shows also can be bought online at www.gettix.net or by calling (866) 443-8849. Tickets also will be available at Skate Zone Family Fun Center, 5420 Mahoning Ave., Austintown (9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday), and at USA Cinema, Great East Plaza, Niles (1 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday).
About 5,000 tickets will be available for the Bennett show, and buyers will be limited to eight tickets. The concert will start at 7 p.m.
Improving sound
Special acoustical treatments will be installed on all flat surfaces to improve the sound for the show. While acknowledging that it is not a concert hall, Kossow called the arena "intimate," adding "there is truly not a bad seat in the house."
Crews are now installing seats in the arena, which Kossow said is about 85 percent complete.
Kossow was mum on the details but promised more big concert announcements in the next few days. "You will be amazed at who we'll be getting," he said.
Matthew Hufnagel, director of sales and marketing, said the arena management is still trying to get a read on the city's musical tastes.