Stambaugh concert keeps grandeur alive

Doug Wittenauer speaks with poise and patience that befits someone who leads the treasure that is Stambaugh Auditorium.

Stambaugh is a creation of grandeur — stunning in appearance, yet silencing in its magnificence and its place as a historic Mahoning Valley cultural sanctuary. And Wittenauer seems to embody that splendor.

That makes it all the more awkward when he drops a Jim Tressel, hard-nosed football reference.

Tressel is certainly tied to one Stambaugh facility — the stadium down the street a tad. But Wittenauer connects him to his Stambaugh, too.

Tressel proved to the Valley that you can succeed, said Wittenauer, president of the Stambaugh Auditorium Association. He showed that stunning achievements are possible in Youngstown, and Wittenauer sees that too in the other Stambaugh — the one that he calls home.

This Friday night, the night before the buses for Elton John roll into the Covelli Centre, another rock classic, albeit more Buckeye in flavor, takes the stage at Stambaugh for a fundraiser.

Phil Dirt and the Dozers will take front stage for a night of classic-rock dancing.

It’s a concert. It’s a dance. And it’s one of the many, many ways that Stambaugh stays vibrant in an economy that works daily against such gems.

Stambaugh Executive Director Phil Cannatti had his high school graduation at Stambaugh many moons ago. Decades later, he rattles off the thousands of like lives as his that touch or are touched by Stambaugh.

“There’s never a dull moment here,” said Cannatti. He pointed to last week as a typical occurrence:

On Monday, a children’s theater group; Tuesday night, it was animal-rights activist Jane Goodall; and Wednesday saw ladies in red and purple hats; and the week closed with a dance company filing into the facility. Mix in weddings, banquets, balls, graduations and more.

Wittenauer sees two distinct roles for Stambaugh.

It is first what it always has been — a community center: “We see this place as a cultural center of the arts for the Valley.”

He also said it’s to be preserved as a historic facility: “You won’t find a facility like this anywhere else in the country.”

But there are also immense needs. Wittenauer and Cannatti rattle them off rather easily:

Roof’s been fixed; there’s new heating and air conditioning; it’s been rewired; new lights fill the stage; new seats for the audience of 2,553; repointing the exterior; parking; outdoor lighting; etc.

The list goes on.

The Skinner Organ refurbishment is the current lead project. It’s an international, $3-million-plus project that will finish next year. And the downstairs ballroom will follow, so it can better serve the community.

It’s all accomplished amid fees and charges that do not equate to the facility.

“We would not get the usage out of the facility if our fees were equal to what this facility requires,” said Wittenauer.

And that’s where Friday’s Phil Dirt event, hosted by the Stambaugh Pillars volunteer group, comes in.

At ticket prices from $20 to $35, it gets you in the doors starting at 6:30 p.m. for a night of fun and support.

It’s a concert. It’s a dance. It’s Stambaugh.