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How much? What Name? Civic Center Progress Updated
"By George NelsonGIRARD, Ohio -- Naming rights on the Youngstown Convocation Center could be settled as early as today. Wayne Davis, president of Global Entertainment Marketing Systems, told The Business Journalfollowing a Wednesday afternoon news conference that he has a meetingtoday at which he hopes to have a final decision on naming rights. Twocompanies are in contention for the rights, he said.""You'reactually going to be pleasantly shocked at the numbers we're talkingabout,"" Youngstown Mayor George McKelvey told reporters and otherobservers. If an agreement is reached on naming rights, the successful candidate could be announced within weeks, Davis said. Thenews conference was held at the Holiday Inn Metroplex, which wasidentified as a corporate partner for the project. ""They will be theofficial hotel for the Youngstown Convocation Center,"" Davis said. Theagreement is for three years. Under the three-year deal, theMetroplex will have a negotiated rate for Global and will also offerand market packages to guests coming in to the area for events at theconvocation center, said Metroplex general manager Nancy Merlo. Theconvocation center will make referrals to the Metroplex, she added.Alsoannounced at the news conference was the hiring of Jeff Kossow tomanage the facility. Kossow, who has opened five similar facilities forCompass Facility Management, said he became available following the endof a sabbatical. Compass is Youngstown's consultant on the convocationcenter project. In addition to the Central Hockey Leaguefranchise that will be based at the facility, discussions are under wayregarding a wide range of events to take place at the convocationcenter, including circuses, rodeos and concerts, to touch ""all thedifferent demographics in our community,"" Kossow said. ""We're veryinterested in making sure that this is the people's building.""Officialswith Compass and Global took the opportunity to announce the formationof GECompass, a joint venture, limited liability corporation that willbe the management group behind the convocation center project, saidRick Kozuback, chief executive officer of Global Entertainment Corp.,the parent company of Global Entertainment Marketing Systems.Kozubacksaid construction is proceeding on schedule and on budget, with thefinal hard construction bids -- expected to be in the range of $17million to $20 million -- due to be opened next week. In addition, thestructural steel for the facility is due to arrive this month on thesite, with erection to begin by the end or December or early January.""We see no reason right now, unless the weather changes dramaticallyover the course of the next few months that we should not make our fall2005 opening,"" he said. McKelvey said the bids already awardedhave come in about $3 million cumulatively under estimate, but the cityshould have a better idea of what the project's total cost will be oncethe bid packages are opened next week. The goal is to have a facilitywith no debt, though he said the city has talked about securing gapfinancing to cover any shortfall. However, he added, officialsare optimistic about the possibility of more state funding -- the cityhas requested funding from the Sports and Arts Facilities Commission,with an announcement expected in January -- as well as from a financingsource he didn't want to discuss. ""I don't want to say anything becauseit will tip our hand,"" he said. ""It would be a private source but itwould not create any debt obligation. It's a unique financialinstrument that benefit's the investor, let me put it that way."" AreaMcDonalds operator Herb Washington, recently named as the owner of theCHL franchise that will play at the convocation center, said he isinterviewing general manager candidates, and anticipates making anoffer within the next two weeks. Then Washington plans to hire a coachand a public relations manager, he said. Assuming the convocationcenter would open at the end of October, Washington said he's going toneed a team practicing on ice by the end of August. In the event of thefacility not being ready for use at that time, ""maybe my buddy Brucecould rent us some ice and we can go over there and practice,"" he said.Bruce Zoldan owns the Ice Zone in Boardman.Discussing thecity's role in putting the convocation center project together,McKelvey said it was important that city officials ""know what we didn'tknow"" and hire qualified people. ""We don't know how to build and managean arena so we were smart enough to go to the best in the business andhave them take us through this process,"" he remarked. ""By theend of this process we will have a project that every other developerin the country will come to tour. As you see the frame of the buildinggo up more believers will come on board and there will continue to befewer and fewer skeptics.""McKelvey also discussed concernsraised on a radio talk show earlier in the day regarding the lack ofparking at the facility. He said the city was advised not only by itsconsultants but by Hunter Morrison, ""one of the top urban planners inAmerica,"" not to put too much parking on site because then it becomeslike the former Richfield Coliseum ""a destination site"" that peopledrive to and then leave at the conclusion of the event. ""You wantpeople to move throughout your downtown area so they become patrons ofyour downtown businesses,"" he said. If that proves not to workwithin the first year, the city has 24 more acres on the site availableto develop. ""We want to follow Hunter and downtown Cleveland's idea ofit not being a sole destination site,"" he said.Visit the Youngstown Convocation Center at www.youngstownconvocationcenter.comContact George Nelson at [email protected]"