City Receives $707K from Entertainment Venues in 2019
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The city of Youngstown received $707,140 from the operation of the Covelli Centre, Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre and Wean Park in 2019, though the center’s manager acknowledged “much uncertainty” this year because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Eric Ryan, president of JAC Management Group LLC, in a letter to Mayor Tito Brown and members of City Council reported the facilities posted an operational profit of $412,684 for the year. In addition, the 5.5% admission tax generated $294,456.
Direct event income for the year was $413,055, about $70,000 higher than budgeted. Total event income was $1.59 million, beating projections by nearly $169,000. Total adjusted gross income was $2.94 million, more than $218,000 higher than the budget. In direct expenses at $2.52 million, were above the $2.4 million projected.
The Covelli Centre posted the best fourth quarter in its history, with a profit of $250,855, Ryan said. Highlights of the quarter included sold-out performances by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Old Dominion, Five Finger Death Punch and Ghost, and a basketball game between Youngstown State University and West Virginia University.
Other events included nine family shows by Disney on Ice and Sesame Street.
The year ended Dec. 31, 2019, marked the first year of operation for the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater, which hosted more than 20 events during the summer.
“As hoped, we were able to operate this facility without much additional staffing as well as absorbing much of the facility startup cost in our operations,” Ryan said.
This year was “off to a great start,” but with the “shutting down of all events due to the COVID-19 epidemic, there is much uncertainty in the event business,” he conceded, and he pledged to minimize the impact on the city.
“We look forward to the official grand opening of Wean Park and Huntington Bank Community Alley this spring/summer and look forward to engaging the community in this wonderful urban park,” he said.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
