Arena pitches target success

By DAVID SKOLNICK

CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — City officials have a lot to consider.

The final two presentativons from companies — one from SMG of Philadelphia and the other a joint presentation from the Cavaliers Operating Co. of Cleveland and International Facilities Group of Chicago — that want to manage the city-owned Chevrolet Centre were given Thursday. Global Spectrum made the first proposal Tuesday.

Cavaliers officials touted that the company is familiar with the marketplace and the Chevrolet Centre would receive much of its attention.

The Chevrolet Centre would be only the second arena the company would manage. It owns and operates the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team and its home center, Quicken Loans Arena. IFG operates a group of facilities in Stockton, Calif.

The Cleveland company also promised an NBA D-League (development league) basketball team, affiliated with the Cavaliers, for the center if the city hires it to manage the facility.

SMG operates 209 facilities worldwide and touted its major presence in the sports and entertainment marketplaces as why the city should select it.

SMG officials said the company has the size and buying power to attract more shows to the center because it operates many venues.

SMG officials also said they would be willing to discuss a contract provision to cover operating deficits at the center if they should occur under their watch. The facility lost more than $275,000 in its first two full years of operations.

“They were all impressive,” Mayor Jay Williams said of the proposals. “I can’t imagine we could have had three better presentations. I anticipate all three will be back for further discussions.”

The city will enter into private discussions with the groups shortly and should have a management deal in place in the next 30 to 60 days, Williams said.

The Cavs-IFG proposal’s main selling points were the Northeast Ohio ties and the use of the Cavaliers — primarily through the D-League affiliate, a Cavs scrimmage every other year and a preseason game every three years.

“We’re inextricably linked together in the Northeast Ohio marketplace,” said Len Komoroski, president of Cavaliers Operating Co. “This is personal. This is our backyard.”

He added that “failure is not an option.”

“The Chevrolet Centre is an extension of what we do at the Q. The two venues can work well together,” Komoroski added.

One of the largest facility management firms in the country, SMG focused on its ability to provide a personal touch to each facility it manages.

“I forgot how large they are [because their presentation] was tailored to Youngstown,” Williams said.

SMG compared the Chevrolet Centre to the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pa., which it manages. Youngstown and Reading are former industrial cities close to much larger metro areas.

The Reading facility made $2.2 million in profit over the last five years, said David Leibowitz, SMG’s director of finance.

Also Thursday, the city hired MS Consultants for $7,500 for the design and project supervision for the construction of a digital marquee in front of the center. The work should be done by summer, said city Finance Director David Bozanich.

Herb Washington, owner of the Youngstown SteelHounds, the center’s main tenant, said he’s not affiliated with any of the organizations that made presentations. Washington listened to both presentations Thursday and said he would have attended Global Spectrum’s but he was out of town Tuesday.

Washington’s company, Blue Line LLC, is suing International Coliseums Co., a Global Entertainment Corp. subsidiary that managed the center for two years, claiming breach of contract.

Washington contends the breach occurred because ICC:

UWithheld $169,662 in club seat he was entitled to receive;

UBilled his company $53,040 for furniture Blue Line didn’t get to choose;

UFailed to pay $15,000 for advertising on a Zamboni machine;

UWithheld $29,700 when it hired a “reader-board operator” replacing one employed by Blue Line;

UFailed to pay Blue Line $110,500 during the first hockey season and $107,049 for the second season for running ICC ads “and the services of Blue Line’s reader-board operator to run those ads.”

Blue Line filed the lawsuit last month in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.