What we have at the arena is failure to communicate

Two prominent Mahoning Valley businessmen are unable to come to terms on the use of the Chevrolet Centre in downtown Youngstown -- and the community is the loser. Herb Washington, owner of the SteelHounds of the Central Hockey League, and Bruce Zoldan, owner of the Mahoning Valley Phantoms of the North American Hockey League, have failed to reach an agreement -- even with the intercession of Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams and his chief of staff, Jason Whitehead. And that's cause for concern.
Why? Because the Chevrolet Centre is a publicly owned facility -- the $45 million price tag is being paid for with taxpayer dollars -- aimed at improving the quality of life in the Mahoning Valley. A hockey tournament April 24-29 would have attracted teams and fans from around the country and would have given this region some positive publicity for a change.
But Washington, whose SteelHounds call the arena home and who has a contract that gives him the right for 10 years to block other hockey events in the Chevrolet Centre, refused to let Zoldan host the NAHL tournament at the facility. Washington's official reason: The SteelHounds might still be playing in the minor league playoffs and, therefore, would need the arena. However, on Friday, he issued a press release that detailed other reasons.
Zoldan responded to the playoff scenario by saying his junior hockey league would be willing to move any conflicting games to the Ice Zone in Boardman, home to the Mahoning Valley Phantoms. Zoldan owns the Ice Zone.
Extraneous issues
But late last week, Mayor Williams, who had spent days trying to resolve the impasse, conceded that he was not confident an agreement could be reached because there are a slew of extraneous issues that seemed to have made the conflict between the two businessmen personal.
There is nothing to be gained by rehashing the woe-is-me stance taken by Washington and Zoldan because there is a much larger issue that the new mayor and his administration must address, namely, the rights of the city of Youngstown with regard to the Chevrolet Centre.
Williams last week acknowledged that his hands are tied because of the contracts that are in effect, but he said he intends to bring all the parties involved in the arena together to discuss the Washington-Zoldan debacle and to ensure that everyone understands what is at stake: the public's interest.
The mayor must find a way to ensure that the city's greater good gets more consideration than turf battles in deciding arena events.
One solution is to have a representative of the mayor's office involved in all discussions about prospective events at the centre that are not under the purview of Global Entertainment Corp., the company hired by the city to operate and manage the facility.
Had the mayor's office been involved from the outset in the talks pertaining to the hockey tournament, it is quite possible that Washington and Zoldan would have found common ground.