Youngstown may dish out $500K to void Covelli food pact

YOUNGSTOWN — After some rocky times, the city’s Covelli Centre is seeking to end its relationship with the facility’s food-and-beverage vendor.

But it’s likely to cost the city-owned arena more than $500,000 to break the contract.

City officials have tried for years to get Boston Culinary Group — it’s been Centerplate since late 2009 when that company purchased Boston Culinary — to leave the center.

The company has a 10-year contract and has refused to leave without a full buyout of its deal that expires in September 2015.

Boston Culinary spent about $1.2 million in equipment and materials for the center with its contract calling for the facility to pay about $120,000 annually over 10 years to the company. The company’s contract began in September 2005, a month before the center opened.

“We’ve come to an understanding, and we want to discuss that with [city] council,” said Kyle Miasek, the city’s deputy finance director. “We’ll provide [council] with the details” at a noon Wednesday meeting.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com