Future of Chevrolet Centre must be viewed objectively

If the Youngstown-owned Chevrolet Centre is doomed to be a money-loser, then Mayor Jay Williams and members of his inner circle must answer this question: How long can a city that is financially strapped, losing population and has a stagnant tax base afford to support such a facility?

It’s a question we have been asking since the early days of the so-called convocation center complex when former Mahoning Valley Congressman James A. Traficant Jr. secured a $26.8 million federal grant for the project. Traficant did not envision city government shelling out almost $900,000 a year from its operating budget for the facility, but that is what is taking place today.

Thus when the operators of the Chevrolet Centre and city officials hail the “profit” made during the first three quarters of the 2007-08 fiscal year (October to June), it is important to point out that the bookkeeping does not include city government’s obligations. The $600,000 to $650,000 annual payment in interest alone on the $11.9 million the city borrowed for its share of the $45 million construction cost, and the $200,000 a year paid to USA Parking Systems must be considered in any discussion of the center’s financial health. After all, those taxpayer dollars could be used for other priorities that directly impact the health, safety and welfare of Youngstown residents.

To his credit, Mayor Williams, who inherited the project from his predecessor, George M. McKelvey, has made it clear that financially subsidizing the facility indefinitely to the tune of $750,000 to $1 million “would be an issue. It would difficult to swallow.”

Williams says that if the arena has a “significant adverse impact” on the city’s finances, “a sale would be a possibility.”

That position is not only responsible, but should serve as a challenge to all those involved to find ways of making the Chevrolet Centre self-sufficient.

Unprofitable

It is a challenge that will not easily be met, given that such arenas do not make a profit. That is why the private sector shies away from them. Around the country, sports/entertainment complexes are built and operated with taxpayer dollars.

Given this reality, Youngstown city government has the responsibility to ensure that the Chevrolet Centre is making as much money as it can.

Thus, we applaud the administration for working with Youngstown businessman Bruce Zoldan, owner of the Mahoning Valley Phantoms, a junior hockey team, to make sure that the hockey arena is not dark this coming season.

The Youngstown SteelHounds, a professional hockey team which has been the center’s main tenant for the past three years, is no longer active. The team, owned by Youngstown businessman Herb Washington, was kicked out of the Central Hockey League.

But while having a junior “A” hockey team — players range in age from 16 to 20 — affiliated with the North American Hockey League is a welcomed stopgap, the fact remains that the arena was built for professional hockey.

While the Phantoms can be expected to bring its fans to downtown Youngstown, it would be foolhardy to suggest that junior hockey can replace professional hockey.

Mayor Williams is right in insisting that a team affiliated with the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) or a similar professional league fill the void created by the end of the CHL’s SteelHounds.

Washington has met with the mayor and has had conversations with Zoldan, but he is also adamant that he has a contract with the city that gives him exclusive rights to hockey at the arena for 10 years.

Williams disagrees and the issue is now before a federal judge. An expeditious resolution is essential.