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Ice Zone to Close, Practice Rink for Phantoms
BOARDMAN, Ohio – The Ice Zone will close in May, its owners confirmed to reporters Monday, depriving the Youngstown Phantoms of the rink it uses for practices even as its fate at its competition venue remains up in the air.
Attorney Bill Weimer, vice president of Ice Zone owner Bruce Zoldan’s Phantom Fireworks, said closing the Ice Zone, which has operated since 1997, was a financial decision, that the operation "has been losing money for years." The McClurg Road property will be marketed but a deal to sell it has not been reached as yet, he said. The rink will close May 15.
In addition to the Phantoms, which also are owned by Zoldan, youth hockey teams compete at the Ice Zone, which also hosts a figure skating club and offers public skating hours and books private events.
The Phantoms, which compete in the United States Hockey League, took to the ice of the Covelli Centre in downtown Youngstown in 2009 and have a lease through the 2013-2014 season. However, among the recommendations in a recent report commissioned by the city on the arena in anticipation of a potential lease or sale of the building was that “consideration should be given to the long term benefit of retaining the team as a tenant and enabling management to book more profitable shows with the added open dates.”
Prepared by PA Sports & Entertainment , Downington, Pa., the report states that the arena earns an estimated $780 per Phantom game through the first 11 games of the current season, significantly below budget due to low attendance, just under 1,00 per game, and low ancillary income. Over the first three seasons, average attendance was 1,200 and average net income was $150 per game.
The Covelli Centre could increase profitability with the 30 additional open date events, resulting in a conservatively estimated additional $75,000 to $100,000 new profit through the alternative event bookings, the PA Sports & Entertainment report projected.
Opened in 2005, the Covelli Centre struggled with profitability in its early years but under the management of Eric Ryan and his JAC Management Group has improved its financial performance. Major acts the venue has hosted in recent years include Elton John, Barry Manilow and Bob Dylan.
Zoldan has criticized the report.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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