Company sues Youngstown over Chevy Center pact

Company sues Youngstown over Chevy Center pact

YOUNGSTOWN — International Coliseums Co. claims in a federal lawsuit that Youngstown violated its management contract with the company causing it to increase its operating costs and cut its profits.

Because of those supposed contract violations, ICC is refusing to pay its $600,000 guarantee to the city.

ICC, a subsidiary of Global Entertainment Corp. of Phoenix, and Youngstown agreed July 13, 2006, to an amendment to its contract that guaranteed that amount to the city regardless of the center’s finances.

The city-owned arena has lost more than $55,000 between its opening in October 2005 through this past June.

In the lawsuit, ICC states actions taken by the city and others threatened by the city were done to “seriously and materially affect the abilities of ICC to generate revenues at the facility.”

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Youngstown, ICC states it wouldn’t have agreed to the $600,000 guarantee if it knew the city would make changes that hurt the facility’s profitability and breach its contract with the company.

ICC was supposed to pay the $600,000 to the city on Sept. 1, but didn’t.

ICC filed the lawsuit, Mayor Jay Williams said, because the city made it clear to the company that it was going to file its own lawsuit sometime next week, possibly as early as Monday, in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

The city’s lawsuit will contend ICC violated the contract, and include a claim of financial damages for the center’s monetary failures and to dissolve the management deal, Williams said.

For the complete story, see Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.