43
Covelli Centre has $84,267 Q2 operating loss
VINDICATOR EXCLUSIVE
YOUNGSTOWN
The Covelli Centre had an $84,267 operating loss between April and June, but arena officials had budgeted to lose more than three times that amount during those three months.
“The second quarter is a difficult quarter,” said Eric Ryan, the center’s executive director. “But the quarter was much less of a loss than we thought it would be because we cut expenses.”
The center had projected a $269,927 operating loss for the second quarter.
This was the third-straight second quarter – April to June – for the center with an operating loss. Between 2009 and 2014, the center had a second-quarter operating surplus annually except for 2011.
Its strongest second quarter was 2012 with a $229,740 operating surplus.
During this past April to June, there were 12 events at the Covelli Centre, including four Youngstown Phantoms hockey games.
Despite the operating loss, city Deputy Finance Director Kyle Miasek said: “We are pleased they did better than budgeted. The second quarter has been slow, but Eric has told me the fall is going to be much busier, which bodes well for the bottom line.”
The city-owned center finished the first six months of the year with a $48,102 operating surplus.
Ryan said he expects to end the year with an operating surplus of about $250,000.
That would be about $100,000 more than budgeted but its smallest surplus since 2011. The center has finished every year since 2009 with an operating surplus. The center opened in October 2005.
“We’re not going to break records every year,” Ryan said. “We budgeted the year to make $146,000. We fully expect to exceed that and make about $250,000 for the year.”
That would mean an operating surplus of about $200,000 during the last six months of the year.
Also, the center made $12,701 between April and June from its 5.5 percent admission tax on tickets sold for events at the center, Miasek said. It made $73,634 in admission tax during the first three months of the year, he said.
The city borrowed $11.9 million in 2005 to pay its portion of building the $45 million facility. The city still owes $9.76 million in principal.
The city plans to make a $600,000 principal payment this year with about $171,000 in interest.
The city uses money from the center’s operating surplus and the admission tax along with the carry-over fund balance it has from previous years to make the principal and interest payments.
There’s about $480,000 in the center’s fund balance, Miasek said.