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YOUNGSTOWN -- The city-owned Covelli Centre started off the year with five sell-out shows resulting in a record-breaking operating surplus for the first quarter.
"It's great to come out of the gate so strong," said Eric Ryan, president of JAC Management Group, which operates the center as well as the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre and Wean Park for the city. "It's the best first quarter we've ever had."
The center reported an operating surplus of $382,334 in the first three months of the year.
That includes 6,000-seat sell-out shows by country singer Cody Johnson, a Rockzilla concert featuring Papa Roach and Falling In Reverse, and a World Wrestling Entertainment event, Ryan said.
Also, there were two 5,000-seat sellouts for Toughest Monster Trucks, and the Ohio Wrestling Championship elementary and middle schools state wrestling tournaments over two weekends in March attracted 20,000 people to the facility, he said. The tournaments have free admission, but the center made a lot of money in concession sales, and the events filled hotels for a 30-mile radius, Ryan said.
"It's about the big shows that we book and the money we can make off of the big shows," he said. "We've had success because we've been able to find the shows that work. We have to continue to do that. It's not the easiest thing in the world."
FIRST QUARTERS
The center has had operating surpluses in 15 consecutive first quarters, which is typically the facility's best three-month reporting period.
Until this past quarter's $382,334, the previous record was a $382,016 surplus in 2014. It's only the third time in the arena's history in which the surplus for the first quarter exceeded $300,000 with the other being 2016 with $306,858.
The first quarter surplus was more than double the $170,255 surplus budgeted for the three-month period.
Also, the center generated $76,701 for the city from a 5.5 percent admission tax on tickets during the first three months of the year, said city Finance Director Kyle Miasek.
During the first quarter, only the center holds events. The city uses the amphitheater and the park starting in the latter part of the second quarter as the weather is too cold to have outdoor shows during the first three months of the year.
REST OF THE YEAR
The second quarter, which goes from April to June, should make a small profit, Ryan said.
"It will be tough this year, but it typically is," he said. "We'll make money in the second quarter. It won't be a lot. Hopefully, we'll be treading water in the second quarter."
The second quarter has traditionally been the most inconsistent three-month period for the facilities, with 10 quarters that lost money and seven that had surpluses. The last three second quarters lost money.
The center just had a 6,000-seat sell-out concert with Alice Cooper on April 29, and there are a number of concerts scheduled at the amphitheater, including REO Speedwagon on June 21, Parker McCollum on June 22 and The Doobie Brothers on June 28. The latter, in particular, is doing well with ticket sales, Ryan said.
As for the rest of the year, Ryan said, "The third quarter should be strong. We have a lot going on at the amp in the third quarter, and we're working on the fourth quarter. We're looking to have a very strong year."
The third quarter features the return of Y-Live to Wean Park on July 29 with Kid Rock, Lee Brice and Buckcherry.
Kid Rock played the center in 2013 and was one of the fastest sellouts in the facility's history. Brice played the amphitheater last Sept. 9 with 5,000 people attending, the largest crowd in that facility's history, Ryan said. Buckcherry was at the center on Feb. 8, 2011.
Last year's Y-Live event at the park featuring a Luke Bryan concert on July 16 attracted a crowd of about 20,000 and was by far the most successful and profitable show at any of the city-operated facilities in 2022.
DEBT
The city borrowed $11.9 million in 2005 to pay its portion of building the $45 million center. Most of the funding came from two federal grants.
The city owes $1.7 million on that loan and will pay it in full next January, Miasek said.
Youngstown paid only interest until its first principal payment in 2011. It made $1.7 million principal payments in both June 2022 and three months ago.
The city also borrowed $4 million in 2018 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to pay for the $8 million amphitheater and park, which opened a year later. The rest of the money came from naming-rights deals.
The city is repaying that loan over 20 years.
dskolnick@vindy.com