YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Covelli Centre is an undisputed asset for downtown Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, but The Business Journal wasn’t initially a big proponent of its construction – and certainly not of the approach the city administration was taking early on.
For decades, the idea of a convocation center was little more than a loosely defined concept. A front-page story in the December 1984 edition of the Youngstown Business Journal reported on a task force that had been established to plan an arena or auditorium that could function as a large-scale civic and convention center.
How to fund such an endeavor remained a question for years – until 2000, when then U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., a Democrat, secured $26.8 million in federal funds to construct a “convocation center” in exchange for supporting a Republican for House speaker.
In a MidApril 2000 editorial, The Business Journal questioned whether such a facility would be the economic development boon that Traficant and other supporters contended it would be and argued that a second small-business incubator downtown would represent a better use of federal funds.
The Gateway Group’s Tom Chema, whose company played a role in development projects in other cities, including Cleveland, said in a MidOctober 2000 story that a local arena was not only feasible but would serve as a catalyst for development and provide a psychological boost – just like the Gateway Project did in Cleveland. Several sites were being considered, including three near YSU and one downtown.
City Council’s preference turned out to be a site between the Market Street and South Avenue bridges.
Obstacles Emerge
Disagreements between City Council and members of the appointed Youngstown Civic Center Development Corp. board over what role the board should play in the project – council members saw the board’s role as advisory – led to the board’s dissolution. One member doubted that the center would be built in their lifetimes, as reported in the March 2002 Business Journal.
The apparent lack of interest in investing private sector dollars was the topic of concern in our October 2002 editorial. None of the four proposals that had been submitted had identified a private investor, contrary to then-Mayor George McKelvey’s repeated assurances that neither the city not its residents would “bear the financial burden of building or operating the center.”
A March 2003 story reported Youngstown was planning to move forward on purchasing the 26-acre site between the bridges – property bisected by an aging sewer line and located within a 100-year flood plain – for $1.5 million from RSA Corp. The city had not sought an appraisal.
McKelvey said he would not respond to questions from The Business Journal about the land deal or the convocation center project. Following our story that reported on complications to the project caused by the sanitary sewer line, he also told city officials not to speak to Business Journal reporters.
That action prompted a Freedom of Information Act request by the paper seeking documents pertaining to the project and a series of legal actions and appeals.
The land the city purchased was property that George Alexander, a disbarred attorney connected with Traficant who was serving a six-year prison term, previously had tried to sell to Youngstown for $1 million when McKelvey’s predecessor, Patrick Ungaro, was mayor, according to a MidMarch 2003 story.
Photos accompanying an August 2003 story illustrated the flood plain issues; after a late July rain, nearly a quarter of the 26-acre site was under water.
By December 2003, Ohio’s two U.S. senators were seeking an extension of the city’s deadline to use the allocation Traficant had secured and flexibility so the money wasn’t required to be used for a convocation center – efforts that eventually would fail.
“There is no way, absent any input or oversight from the local private sector, that Congress should redirect this money to a clique of public officials armed with the power to carve up and dish out the cash as they please,” we warned in a MidDecember 2003 editorial.
Documents the city finally provided were the core of a January 2004 story that shared visions of ice capades, art shows, basketball, hockey and arena football as possible draws. But, we said, the “huge cost of developing the site the city had rushed to purchase dashed any dreams of private investment.”
Construction Begins
Youngstown entered into an agreement March 24, 2004, with International Coliseums Co. to allow its subsidiary, Global Entertainment, to build and manage the civic center, projected to cost $41 million.
A long-awaited groundbreaking took place June 22, 2004.
McKelvey seized the opportunity to lash out at those he described as venting “destructive criticism” toward the project. “They are the haters. There is no purpose for destructive criticism in this world. It is the Devil’s work,” he said.
“Raising questions about how our elected and appointed officials spend our tax dollars – whether to build convocation centers, to prosecute the conflict in Iraq or increase taxes so school systems can buy art supplies – is the role of interested citizens and the press,” we countered in our July 2004 editorial.
A MidJanuary 2005 story showcased the businessman who would own the center’s initial anchor tenant. In November 2004, McDonald’s franchisee Herb Washington bought the Central Hockey League franchise that would play in the arena. “Someone has got to be the trailblazer,” he said. His team was named the SteelHounds.
Nearly two years after saying he would not talk to the paper and instructing city officials not to speak to reporters, McKelvey notified The Business Journal that he had imposed a written gag order.
The Business Journal filed suit Feb. 24, 2005, in federal court, arguing that it had violated the First Amendment rights of the paper, our employees, as well as those of the public and city employees. The case, joined by friend-of-the-court briefs from national news organizations as well as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Newspaper Association of America, ultimately was unsuccessful.
By August 2005, questions arose as to how the city was going to pay for the estimated $12 million funding gap for the now $45 million project. Our editorial that month questioned where the private sector support was that McKelvey assured would be drawn to this project.
City Council approved issuing up to $12 million in municipal notes to cover the gap.
The center would open in late October 2005, with concerts by 3 Doors Down and Tony Bennett. The SteelHounds hockey team, which would last only a couple seasons, would take the ice for the first time Nov. 4. Bruce Zoldan’s Phantoms hockey teams succeeded the SteelHounds.
By December 2005, the city had locked down a deal to name the arena the Chevrolet Centre, reflecting General Motors’ manufacturing presence and promoting the brand locally.
A Shaky Start
Financial success for the arena itself would be elusive for some time. A May 2006 editorial observed that the Chevrolet Centre had so far fallen short of being the “overwhelming success” that McKelvey had predicted. Profits for the first six months were barely a third of what had been projected, and losses were projected for three of the next four months.
That concerned Youngstown’s new mayor, Jay Williams, who said he wanted to revisit all the agreements related to the arena, including with Global.
Even with a renegotiated agreement, the relationship between the city and Global deteriorated. Youngstown terminated its agreement with Global effective Oct. 31, 2007, and hired Struthers concert promoter Eric Ryan, a choice we applauded in a November 2007 editorial.
An income statement dated Nov. 14, 2007, showed just how bad the situation was: for the arena’s second fiscal year, it lost more than $254,000 – a far cry from the $269,953 profit that had been projected.
By the following spring, the city was preparing to enter into an agreement with Philadelphia-based SMG to act as a national partner in managing the arena. SMG would work with Ryan, whose JAC Management was running the arena.
A story in August 2008 signaled a turnaround. For the nine-month period ended June 30, Chevrolet Centre showed a net profit over three quarters, the first time it had done so. This had Williams cautiously optimistic.
“There’s always room for improvement but I think we’re moving in the right direction,” he said in November 2008 story.
The expiration of the naming rights deal with General Motors in combination with a weakened economy put the arena in the red for the reporting period that ended Dec. 31, 2008.
Better news would be forthcoming April 24, 2009, when Ryan reported a quarterly profit of more than $242,000 for the first three months of 2009.
More good news came that May, when the city reached a naming rights agreement with Warren-based Covelli Enterprises.
Drawing Applause
Since opening, what is now the Covelli Centre has hosted all manner of acts and events, including national recording artists, boxing matches and monster trucks shows, along with local civic and business events and political rallies.
Perhaps nothing compares to the enthusiasm generated when rock icon Elton John was booked for a May 1, 2010, show – the first of three times he would perform at the venue.
In early 2024, the city made its final payment on the money it borrowed to complete construction of the arena, which today is anchors downtown and a key element in its revival.
We hardly could be happier to be proven wrong.
Pictured at top: In 2002, two years before ground was broken for the arena he championed, Jim Traficant was indicted on 10 felony counts of racketeering, bribery and fraud.