Chevy Centre's losses weighed against other arenas

YOUNGSTOWN — With a $26 million federal check in its wallet, Youngstown leapt into the sometimes fickle waters of arena management.

The 5,700-seat Chevrolet Centre opened in 2005 with a lot of promise for the downtown riverfront. It retains the promise, but in the 18 months it’s been open, the center has struggled to turn a profit.

The center’s finances made headlines again in May when quarterly profits fell 16 times short of projections. The January-to-March period was supposed to generate profits of $458,564. What came in was $27,440.

Mayor Jay Williams is one of many local officials worried that the differences would make the city, in his words, “subject to ridicule.”

The center’s new executive director, Tim McGrath, marveled how a negative light shines over what was a profitable period. “A projection is just a projection,” said McGrath. “The fact that we’re in the black, we’re excited.”

Determining what’s a respectable profit for the Chevy Centre is a complicated matter. The public arena industry offers no convenient standard for measuring the success of an arena. Publicly owned venues across the country vary in success.

For the complete story, see Sunday's Vindicator and Vindy.com.