You know the excitement you feel when you make the final payment on your car loan?

We bet that was nothing compared to the exuberance that Youngstown city leaders must have felt when they paid off the whopping $11.9 million loan the city borrowed in 2005 to cover its portion of the Covelli Centre construction.

The city has been extremely aggressive, particularly in recent years, in paying off the loan. Of the $11.9 million owed in principal, it will have paid $5.1 million in about 20 months.

It made $1.7 million payments in June 2022, January 2023, leaving the final payment to be made this week.

The money to repay the loan came from operating profits, a 5.5% admission tax on tickets sold at both the center and the adjacent Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre and from property taxes the city receives specifically intended for debt service payments, said Kyle Miasek, the city’s finance director.

The $1.7 million amounts are the largest principal payments the city has made for the facility.

Before that, the city paid $1.46 million in 2021 and $900,000 in both 2019 and 2020.

The city borrowed $11.9 million in 2005 to pay its portion of the center’s $45 million overall cost. Most of the construction expenses were covered by $26.8 million in federal grants obtained in 2000 by then-U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr.

Much like home buyers faced with high levels of interest that generally are paid early in the mortgage repayment process, Youngstown paid nothing on its principal until 2011. Only interest was paid during the earlier years.

Interest payments on the $11.9 million cost the city about $6.6 million.

The interest rate in 2007 was 6.88% so the city paid $818,720 in interest alone that year.

The interest rate in 2011, the first year the city paid toward the principal, was 5.34%.

It has decreased since then. It was 1% in 2012, 1.5% in 2013, 1.65% in 2014, 1.9% in 2015, 1.75% in 2016, 2.44% in 2017, 3.24% in 2018, 3.1% in 2019 and 1% in 2020, 2021 and 2022, before going up to 4.13% in 2023.

The admission tax, first imposed in 2011, has generated almost $3 million.

The operating profits since 2009 are about $3.5 million.

Those fees and profits generated significant revenue for the arena and the city largely because of the enormous success of entertainment events booked and coordinated by JAC Management Group and its president, Eric Ryan. JAC operates the center as well as the nearby amphitheater and Wean Park for the city.

And now, thanks to the satisfied debt, Miasek said operating profits and admission tax will be put toward much-needed improvements and upgrades at the center.

Additionally, the lack of a debt service at Covelli Centre will create opportunities for new capital projects and investments, which can be viewed only as a winning situation for the city that continues to improve, particularly in the downtown.

In the words of Eric Ryan, “There were a lot of naysayers, and we were able to get it paid off in less than 20 years. I’m grateful to be part of it. Moving forward we’re only going to get better.”

We congratulate city leaders, Ryan, JAC and all those involved in Covelli Centre operations for their dedicated, consistent efforts that paved the way toward this momentous accomplishment.