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3rd Q loss is less at Covelli
YOUNGSTOWN
It’s always going to be “difficult” for the Covelli Centre to have an operating surplus during the July-to-September quarter, its executive director said, but the facility’s losses for that time period are consistently going down.
The center had a $56,294 operating loss for the year’s third quarter, Eric Ryan said Friday. The center’s operating loss for that quarter has decreased every year since it opened.
“It’s gotten better over the years,” Ryan said.
In comparison, the operating loss for the third quarter in 2006 was $253,998.
“Until we find a more economic way to compete in the summertime ... it will be difficult to turn a profit in the summer months,” Ryan said.
Because of an increase in outdoor concerts and other entertainment events, indoor arenas, such as Covelli, typically lose money between July and September, Ryan and arena experts have said.
The center had no events in July. In August and September, there were 13 events, including three outdoor concerts.
Center officials had projected a $195,308 operating loss for July to September.
The center was able to reduce that operating loss to $56,294 through a variety of ways, Ryan said.
The biggest cost savings came when the center turned off its air-conditioning system and lights when no events were scheduled, and temporarily laid off workers during the slow months.
“We’re pleased we didn’t lose as much as we had budgeted and that we’re moving in the right direction,” said Kyle Miasek, the city’s deputy finance director.
Through the first nine months of this year, the center has an operating surplus of $11,664.
The final three months of the year are typically the center’s most profitable quarter.
Center officials had estimated an operating surplus of $219,000 for the last quarter, but Ryan said the facility won’t come close to that figure.
Ryan expects the actual figure to be a little more than $88,000 with the center ending the year with an operating surplus of about $100,000.
“We’re happy we’ll end the year with [an operating] profit,” Miasek said.
The reason for the expected decline in the fourth- quarter projection is the center’s budget projection included two concerts for those three months that won’t take place then, Ryan said.
One was World Vision’s Make A Difference Christian concert Sept. 30, and the other is a concert now set in the first quarter of 2011, Ryan said. He declined to name that act.
This year “was a rough year for concerts and I knew that,” Ryan said. “But I’m expecting good things for 2011. There will be a lot more shows on the road for 2011 [compared to 2010] that will fit our style.”
The only year the center, which opened in October 2005, had an operating surplus was in 2009 with $153,950.
Also, the city received $13,723.49 in the third quarter from a 5.5-percent admission tax on tickets sold for events at the center. For the first nine months of the year, the admission tax has brought in $139,206.14 in revenue for the city.
That money goes directly into the city’s general fund.
The admission tax, along with any operating surplus the center makes, helps offset the $662,830 the city owes this year in interest on $11.9 million it borrowed five years ago to help fund the center’s construction costs.