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Covelli Centre ekes out surplus
By DAVID SKOLNICK
YOUNGSTOWN
It wasn’t much, but the Covelli Centre made an operating surplus of $1,991 during the first three months of the year.
Center officials had projected an $8,291 operating surplus for January through March.
“We had an operating profit and we’re going to push to do better,” said Eric Ryan, the center’s executive director. The center released its first-quarter financial figures Friday.
As for this year’s second quarter, between April and June, the center’s management had projected an $18,000 deficit.
But with a sold-out Elton John concert May 1 along with strong ticket sales for three Walking with Dinosaurs shows later that week and a June 26 WWE wrestling event, Ryan expects a profitable second quarter.
Also, the center recently signed deals with three new luxury-suite owners and more than 100 new club-seat owners, Ryan said. That revenue will show up in the second-quarter report.
“The first quarter is positive, and the city is pleased the second quarter will be better than forecast,” said Kyle Miasek, the city’s deputy director of finance.
The first-quarter highlights included more than 30,000 people attending the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’s eight performance last month, a record for a multiple-show run at the city-owned facility. Also, the center sold out the Harlem Globetrotters show in January.
The $1,991 surplus in operations is dwarfed by the city’s interest on $11.9 million it borrowed in 2005 to help fund the center’s construction.
But because of a lower interest rate, that cost is $662,830 this year compared to $836,454 in 2009. The center had an operating surplus of $152,950 in 2009, the first time it ended a year with a surplus since it opened in October 2005.
There were also some costly items that lowered the first-quarter surplus, Ryan said.
The center spent about $15,000 on snow removal, considerably more than it typically pays for that service, he said.
“Snow-plowing killed us,” Ryan said. “It snowed for a lot of our big events.”
The center also spent $10,000 to upgrade its security camera system, he said.
The center spent about $8,000 last month to add 200 parking spots to the 300 it had, Ryan said. It will also spend $15,000 to add 500 more spots on site, a project that should be done by next week, he said.
The additional spots — it costs $10 a car to park — should increase the center’s revenue, Ryan said.
Also, hockey wasn’t “a big money maker for us,” Ryan said. The Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League played 14 of its 30 home games last season between January and March at the center. The amateur hockey team, in its inaugural season, struggled on the ice and had low average attendance — 1,794 a home game, according to the USHL.
“No question [not winning] affects attendance,” said Alex Zoldan, the team’s president. “There is a building process. I am very optimistic we’ll be the ticket that makes the center big money. As attendance improves, hockey will be a big money maker.”
The $1,991 the center made during this year’s first quarter is a far cry from the record $242,340 operating surplus for the center during the first three months of 2009.
“Last year we had a killer first quarter,” Ryan said. “That was a dream quarter.”
That quarter last year had four sell-out shows and 13 near sell-out events. The highlight was a Feb. 21, 2009, boxing card headlined by Kelly Pavlik, then-middleweight boxing champion, that had a record crowd for the center of 7,334.
The center’s projected operating surplus this year is $23,000, Ryan said.
One reason for the projected decrease is several of the center’s most successful shows are classic rock concerts, a genre that struggles nationwide, Ryan said.
“You can’t budget to do what we did last year,” he said. “It’s irresponsible to project higher based on last year.”
During the first three months of this year, the center’s 5.5 percent admission tax on tickets sold for events there generated $50,359, which goes directly to the city’s general fund. The city made $300,405 in admission tax in all of 2009.