Center’s ticket plan put on hold

Eleven events will include the two fees, rather than the admission tax.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — The city’s plan to reduce the cost of most tickets for events at the Chevrolet Centre is going to have to wait a bit.

Monday was supposed to be the first day that a flat 9.5 percent admission tax replaced parking and facility fees of $3 to $3.50 per ticket. But its implementation is going to take up to five months, in some cases.

Eight events on the center’s calendar — such as concerts by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and blues legend B.B. King next month and Disney On Ice shows in December — include $3.50 parking and facility fees and not the flat admission tax.

Contracts with promoters for those shows and others already on the schedule, negotiated as long as a year ago, include provisions for the inclusion of the parking and facility fees and not the flat tax, said Tim McGrath, the center’s executive director and Kyle Miasek, the city’s deputy finance director.

The center also has three unannounced events, two in December and one in March 2008, that have the same provision, McGrath said.

Other future events at the center will include the admission tax and not the fees, McGrath and Miasek said.

The promoters prefer the fees to the admission tax — because they receive a portion of the fees, Miasek said.

The only shows already announced for the city-owned center that include the admission tax rather than the fees, as of Monday, are the Oct. 27 Puddle of Mudd and the Nov. 4 Kidz Bop concerts.

Cost comparisons

The tax reduces Puddle of Mudd tickets by $1.25 compared with the $3.50 fees, the norm for months at the city-owned arena. The tax cuts the cost of a low-end Kidz Bop ticket by $1.42, but adds 14 cents for those paying top dollar for that concert.

Also, tickets for the Youngstown SteelHounds minor league hockey team will include the admission tax.

The Central Hockey League team’s season starts Nov. 23. Single-game tickets won’t be sold until Oct. 12 when the team plays the Cincinnati Cyclones of the East Coast Hockey League in an exhibition game at the center.

The city adopted a policy in mid-June to replace the fees with the flat tax, effective Monday. City officials said they did it for a variety of reasons:

UThey received complaints from residents about the ticket prices for some events.

UCity officials expect the change, which saves a dollar or two for less-expensive events at the center, to attract more patrons to the financially struggling facility.

UThe admission tax goes directly to the city and not to the center, operated by International Coliseums Co. ICC is suing the city over breach of contract with this particular change being one of the main issues. City officials are looking to fire ICC because of poor financial results at the center and incorrect financial predictions by the company.

Parking contract

The city and ICC signed 10-year contracts in October 2005 with USA Parking Systems Inc., a Cleveland company, to use about 2,400 spaces at parking decks and lots throughout downtown for those attending Chevrolet Centre events.

City council will consider legislation today to alter the USA Parking contract to eliminate ICC. Council’s proposal would permit the city’s board of control to enter into a new contract.

The provisions would be the same: USA would receive about $220,000 annually for the spaces, but the money would come directly from the city through the admission tax and no longer from the parking fee tacked on to most event tickets.

The contract would most likely be retroactive to Monday.

The city had expected to make close to $100,000 annually in profit through the tax, and use that money for improvements and projects on and near the center site. But that estimate is unlikely for the first year of the contract, city officials say.

The parking and facility fees for events that have those fees on tickets will go toward the center, which will no longer be required to pay USA for parking. That will add revenue to the center for those events without any cost.

On the flip side, the city will be paying USA for parking, including events with tickets that don’t include the admission tax.

skolnick@vindy.com