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Covelli Centre lost $26,721 in 2Q, but less than projected
YOUNGSTOWN
The Covelli Centre had a $26,721 operating loss between April and June, but it’s considerably less than what the facility projected for the second quarter.
The center expected a $195,518 operating loss for those three months, but cut expenses – primarily its utility costs – and made some last-minute additions to its schedule to reduce that deficit, said Eric Ryan, its executive director.
The center was “able to book some shows and do things to lower their expenses to reduce their quarterly loss, and that bodes well for the rest of the year,” said Kyle Miasek, the city’s deputy finance director.
Overall, there were 16 events at the center between April and June, including near-sellout concerts by Lee Brice and Barry Manilow, both in April.
The center had a $306,858 operating surplus for January to March. It finished the first half of the year with a $280,137 operating surplus.
Adding to the bottom line is $73,605 the city received for the first six months from a change made a few years ago to have Ryan’s company, JAC Management Group, take over the center’s food-and-beverage sales. The center had budgeted $52,115 for those sales during the first six months.
“We’re pleased with the second quarter and mostly the first half of 2016,” Ryan said. “Any time you can start the year the way we have, it’s promising.”
The city also received $94,230 in the second quarter from its 5.5 percent admission tax on tickets sold for events at the center, Miasek said. The city made $57,280 during the first three months of the year, he said.
Tallying the operating surplus, the additional food-and-beverage profits and the admission tax, the center made $505,252 in the first six months of the year.
The city borrowed $11.9 million in 2005 to pay its portion to build the $45 million facility. The city didn’t pay anything toward the principal until 2010, and has since increased its principal payment annually. The city is paying $500,000 in principal this year.
After that payment, the city still owes $9.76 million, and will borrow the money in September. The interest rate isn’t known, but city Finance Director David Bozanich said last month it should be about 1.5 percent this year, the same amount as in 2015.
If the interest rate is 1.5 percent, that would be a $146,400 payment with the city paying $646,400 in principal and interest this year.
The center is likely to finish 2016 for the fifth-straight year with more money from the operating surplus, additional food-and-beverage profits and the admission tax than the cost of principal and interest.
The center had projected a $26,000 operating deficit for the third quarter, the worst three-month period for indoor entertainment facilities, but Ryan said he expects it to be better than that.
The facility has four concerts scheduled during the third quarter – it usually has one or two – including Alabama on Aug. 12, KISS on Aug. 26, Lionel Richie on Aug. 27 and Bryan Adams on Sept. 13. Richie already is sold out.
The center had budgeted a $192,000 operating surplus for the final three months of the year. As of Friday, the center’s schedule has only two acts booked for the last three months listed on its website.