City seeks funds from company

The mayor hopes a deal can get done by Friday.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- With it likely that the Chevrolet Centre will fall short of its profit projection, Mayor Jay Williams said the city is seeking financial compensation from the company managing the facility.
Williams said officials with the city and Global Entertainment Corp., the Phoenix company managing the facility, have held a number of discussions in recent weeks about the future of the Chevrolet Centre.
Those discussions include Global's providing money to the city because it won't reach its profit projection, Williams said. The mayor declined to discuss how much money the city is seeking from Global.
Williams hopes an agreement can be reached by Friday but says there is no guarantee it will be done by then.
Figures released
Global released financial figures last week of the center's first six months, from October 2005 to March. Global had estimated a $632,608 profit during the first six months, but the facility's actual profit was $220,819 for that period.
Global projects a $12,611 profit for April through September, considered a slow period of the year for indoor arenas.
Overall, Global projected a $645,221 profit for the center between October 2005 and this September.
Because the center made about 35 percent of its income goal in its first six months, Williams said the facility could see no profit or even a loss in its first year of operations.
The city wanted enough money to pay the $767,000 annual debt service it has from borrowing $12 million to help fund the center's construction. City revenue will be needed to make up any shortfall, Williams said.
Williams wants Global to help off-set at least some of that money.
Attempts Wednesday to reach Craig Johnson, Global's chief financial officer, and Tom Sadler, its president of facility management division, were unsuccessful.
Mayor's view
Williams has repeatedly said he's very disappointed with the Chevrolet Centre's financial results, and has expressed frustration that he has to devote a lot of his time to the facility.
A Global subsidiary received $750,000 from the city to oversee construction of the facility.
Also, during the center's first six months, $246,780 went for employees' salaries and benefits. Global had estimated that cost at $303,009 for the first six months but laid off a few employees to reduce expenses.
skolnick@vindy.com