From the Business Journal

By Dan O’Brien
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Within the next 30 days, the city hopes to have an agreement in place with a new manager for the Chevrolet Centre, officials say.

The selection process kicked off Tuesday as representatives of Global Spectrum, Philadelphia, spent nearly two hours in a public question-and-answer session with city officials.

The company is one of three that answered questions about why it should be chosen to manage the 5,400-seat arena.

From the Business Journal

By George Nelson
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The owners of the Rosetta Stone Café know they can draw business when events are held downtown. The challenge, they say, is bringing people in the doors when there aren’t.

Proprietors George Lenahan and Greg Sop have discussed several possibilities, such as staging an interactive murder mystery or other entertainment, they said Tuesday morning.

“One of our challenges is going to be trying to make our place a destination spot in and of itself when there aren’t events downtown,” Sop said. “We’re going to try to arrange some things to draw a crowd based on our entity alone.”

From the Business Journal

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The owner of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Alan Levin, and local businessman Bruce Zoldan announced late Thursday they are creating a joint marketing partnership with Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum, a division of Comcast Corp., to secure a contract to manage the Chevrolet Centre.

“I am very pleased to be partnering with Bruce Zoldan and Global Spectrum in our efforts to make the Chevrolet Centre the successful centerpiece of the region´s entertainment and sports alternatives,” said Levin, managing partner of the Scrappers’ parent company, Palisades Baseball, in a prepared statement. “We believe that the involvement of Bruce and me and our respective organizations, which have consistently provided the community with a high quality of sports entertainment, with the broad base skills of Global Spectrum, will provide the formula for the long term success of the Chevrolet Centre.”

From the Business Journal

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Chevrolet Centre showed a profit its fiscal first quarter, posting slightly higher numbers compared to the same period last year when it was managed by Global Entertainment of Phoenix.

The municipal arena, now managed locally with city supervision, reported net income of $151,203 for the three months ended Dec. 31, or $6,881 more than the $144,323 it reported for the last three months of 2006.

“We’re doing much better,” said Deputy Finance Director Kyle Miasek. “I’m comfortable the building is moving in the right direction.”