Submitted photo The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra now will now be overseen by the Henry H. Stambaugh Auditorium Association in agreements announced Tuesday.

YOUNGSTOWN — JAC Management will take over operation of the DeYor Performing Arts Center as part of a 10-year agreement announced Tuesday.

It’s part of a series of moves announced Tuesday designed to strengthen the financial stability of area arts organizations and the venues where they perform.

“These organizations do not survive without moves like we’ve made that we’re announcing today,” JAC Owner / President Eric Ryan said at a news conference Tuesday.

JAC will take over day-to-day operations at the DeYor complex, which includes Edward W. Powers Auditorium, Ford Family Recital Hall and Eleanor Beecher Flad Pavilion. It also will work to bring more national touring acts to the complex, similar to the work it’s done at the Youngstown city-owned venues Covelli Centre, Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre and Wean Park and the Warren-city owned Packard Music Hall.

The Youngstown Symphony Society, which operated the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, has transferred the orchestra to the Henry H. Stambaugh Auditorium Association, and the society will rebrand itself as the DeYor Performing Arts Center board and focus on capital improvement efforts there, several of which already have been completed, according to DeYor board member Dave Kosec. They include roof repairs and the installation of a commercial kitchen.

“We had to all come together to make this better for all venues and to make us stronger,” Ryan said. “We realized that we were stronger together.”

Powers will continue to be available to area arts organizations. Ballet Western Reserve will do its annual performances of “The Nutcracker” on Dec. 6 and 7 and Easy Street Productions’ “Miracle on Easy Street” will return in December as well.

The move will allow the different organizations to consolidate some functions.

“Think about each venue independently, and you think about a manager in each venue, booking department, operations, engineering department, our finance and bookkeeping department, our marketing departments,” Ryan said. “If you have every venue trying to sustain that, it becomes difficult. That’s really where the collaboration and the shared services come in.”

Matt Pagac, chief executive and operating officer of Stambaugh, said, “We’re really excited to get to be a part of this and to work with JAC. This really is about playing to everyone’s strengths. JAC’s strengths are facility operations, attracting national talent, those sorts of things. Stambaugh Auditorium over the last decade or so has really grown into the arts and culture center in a way, trying to get everyone to come together and work together and use these facilities to the facilities’ strengths.”

Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown thanked the arts community for staying downtown when many others abandoned it and helping to spark its revitalization. Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber, talked about the important role the arts will play in the region’s future economic development

“It’s undeniable. The arts, culture and quality of life are driving forces in today’s race for talent,” Coviello said. “Communities that offer these are communities that win.”

The four-county Lake-to-River region needs 20,000 more workers by 2030 to fill its priority occupations, Coviello said, and some studies show that many are letting the locale, rather than the employer, guide their choices.

“That means good jobs are not enough,” Coviello said. ” We need a good quality of life, accented with vibrant arts and culture. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that DeYor Performing Arts Center, the Youngstown Symphony and Stambaugh Auditorium are thriving for generations to come.”

Coviello also serves on the Youngstown Foundation’s distribution committee and spoke about its commitment to the arts.

“The Youngstown Foundation intends to continue its legacy of grantmaking in areas such as arts education, ticket subsidies and facility improvements,” he said. “We believe that a robust arts and cultural industry is key to economic growth of the region, and we hope that our biggest impact will be leading by example, as we encourage others to donate and celebrate the hard working and dedicated institutions represented here today and the many other cultural organizations whose creativity and vision are also inspiring individuals of all ages.”

Several speakers stressed the need for the community to support local arts organizations.

“These facilities are not going to be here if they are not financially supported,” Pagac said. “The arts organizations are not going to be able to put shows on the stage. They’re not going to be able to do the work they do in the education side of things if we don’t support them.”

After the news conference, Ryan said the contract pays JAC $250,000 annually. Controlling multiple venues in the Mahoning-Trumbull area will make it possible to offer more options to touring artists, which should lead to more events. He used the April concert by Bob Dylan at Powers Auditorium as an example. Dylan was doing a show that wouldn’t work at Covelli Centre and was looking to play historic theaters.

“At the end of the day, there are different artists and there’s different shows that want to play different venues,” Ryan said. “The artist ultimately decides where they want to play, but it (more venue options) gets you in more of the conversations, and that’s really what you need to have.”

Tickets for most Powers events now are sold through experienceyourarts.org. That option will continue, at least for the time being for local arts events, but DeYor will become a Ticketmaster venue like the JAC-managed buildings, Ryan said. Weekday, in-person ticket sales also will be consolidated instead of operating box offices at both DeYor and the arena.