City plans to sell South High Fieldhouse

The city is losing about $150,000 annually to run the complex.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — The city has a tentative deal in place to sell the former South High Fieldhouse and Stadium for $200,000 to Eagle Heights Academy.

The city wants to sell the 5.7-acre complex primarily because it’s losing about $150,000 to operate it annually, said Jason Whitehead, chief of staff/secretary to the mayor and the city’s interim park director.

The park and recreation commission operates its summer program at the field house on Erie Street and uses it for its adult basketball program. The commission also rents the indoor facility and stadium to athletic organizations.

But the revenues don’t match the expenditures, particularly those for utilities, Whitehead said. Also, the field house — formally known as the Youngstown Sports Arena — needs a new roof and boiler system, he said.

Eagle Heights, which operates out of the former South High School building that fronts Market Street, has rented the complex for sporting activities from the city for years.

The finalized deal would allow the city to continue to use the complex for its adult basketball league and a few other events for free, Whitehead said.

The organizations that rent from the city would have to work out new contracts with Eagle Heights once the sale is finalized, he said.

Appraisals for the property put its worth at $360,000 to $440,000, city Finance Director David Bozanich said. But by selling it, the city would no longer be responsible for the expense of maintaining the complex, he added.

Also, Eagle Heights would make “more efficient” use of the complex than the city, he said.

The city school district closed South High School in 1993. About four years later, it transferred ownership of the field house and stadium to the city.

City council approved an ordinance Wednesday to declare the complex as “no longer necessary for municipal purposes” and authorized its sale.

The stadium was the location of a brazen murder Aug. 19, 2006. A man ran into the stands of the stadium during a youth football game being pursued by another man with a gun. The victim was shot in front of hundreds of spectators and died at the feet of young female cheerleaders.

Also, as the council session was ending, Councilwoman Carol Rimedio-Righetti, D-4th, proposed Claire Maluso, the former Federal Plaza director, be hired on a full-time temporary basis through March 31 to help train Phil Kidd, who replaced her, effective Tuesday. Rimedio-Righetti, council’s finance chairwoman, didn’t know what Maluso would be paid.

Lawmakers unanimously adopted the proposal.

This is a change from the original plan for Maluso.

She was to be hired by the city administration to help Kidd in the transition for a short period of time, and organize ribbon cuttings and groundbreaking events for new and expanded businesses at a salary of up to $7,000.

skolnick@vindy.com