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Decision on center expected in 2 weeks
The center’s director says he’s busy booking events for the summer.
YOUNGSTOWN — Negotiations with two national companies seeking to help run the city-owned Chevrolet Centre are coming to an end, Mayor Jay Williams said.
A decision between SMG and Global Spectrum, both of Philadelphia, should be in front of city council by its next meeting, May 21, Williams said. The mayor wouldn’t say which company he favors.
The city envisions the national company providing support to the center with marketing services, event booking, risk management and insurance, administration and financing.
Eric Ryan of Struthers, initially hired in October to be the center’s interim director, will remain on the job in a permanent basis handling the facility’s day-to-day operations.
Addressing council’s finance committee Wednesday, Ryan said he’s busy booking events for the center during the summer months, traditionally the slowest part of the year for indoor facilities.
That includes five performances of Circque du Soleil and music concerts, Ryan said.
A June 11 concert of Carrie Underwood, a sold-out performance, is of particular note, he said. It’s the fastest sell-out in the center’s history.
Ryan said he battled operators of other entertainment facilities, larger than the Chevrolet Centre, to get Underwood here.
The sell-out of that concert will lead to other successes at the center, he said.
“I truly believe we can make the Chevrolet Centre the jewel of downtown,” Ryan said.
Ryan praised city officials for hiring Ticketmaster to handle ticketing at the center. The deal will increase the center’s visibility. During the first six months of this fiscal year, October 2007 to March, the center had a profit of $120,938. That’s slightly less than what the center made between October 2006 to March 2007 under the management of Global Entertainment Corp., a Phoenix company fired by the city this past October. [Global Entertainment is not affiliated with Global Spectrum.]
skolnick@vindy.com