City to OK pact for Chevy Centre

By David Skolnick

The company is providing its services to the city without a fee through the end of the year.

YOUNGSTOWN — The city’s board of control is to approve a contract today with a company to help manage and promote the Chevrolet Centre.

City officials said the deal was delayed a few days as attorneys for both sides finalized minor legal language. City council authorized the board Wednesday to sign the contract.

The five-year-plus contract is with SMG, a Philadelphia company that manages more than 200 facilities worldwide. Also, JAC Management Co., a Struthers company that has handled the center’s daily operations since October 2007, will remain in that capacity as part of this deal.

SMG will provide support with marketing services, event booking, risk management and insurance, administration and financing.

One of SMG’s first challenges is to help resolve the uncertain future of minor-league hockey at the city-owned Chevrolet Centre.

The Youngstown SteelHounds, which have played their home games at the center for the past three seasons, no longer have a league affiliation. A financial dispute between the Central Hockey League and Blue Line Hockey LLC, the team’s parent company, led to the SteelHounds’ getting kicked out of the league June 2.

Blue Line is looking for a new league while the city is asking a federal judge to grant it the authority to remove the company from the center.

The team played 32 regular-season home games at the center. Those games are primarily on the weekend between October and March, considered prime dates for indoor entertainment and sports facilities.

There are about 100 events at the facility annually.

Mayor Jay Williams, head of the board of control, said he anticipates a discussion about hockey promptly after the contract is signed. Those involved in the discussion would include, but not necessarily be limited to, officials with Blue Line, the city, JAC and SMG.

SMG will waive its monthly fee through Dec. 31 and be paid only for travel expenses pre-approved by the city.

Effective Jan. 1, SMG would receive $80,004 a year. JAC gets $108,000 annually for its services. That would drop to $96,000 a year effective in January.

SMG and JAC would also receive a percentage of net operating income above the $100,000 mark. Neither company would receive commissions.

Global Entertainment Corp., the Phoenix company that ran the center for two years ending in October 2007, received $150,000 a year from the city in management fees as well as about $200,000 a year in commissions.

Also, the city paid a Global employee between $85,000 and $95,000 a year in salary to be its executive director.

skolnick@vindy.com