First Arena

[KarenK 512]

11 minutes ago, Hal said:

Oh , how original and imaginative…( sarcasm Sheldon ) ! So we have gone from naming everything Mark Twain to Lecom  !? 

Oh, they are paying for that honor.

[Twin Tiers Living 525]

Press release:

Since 2000, The Arena has been the centerpiece of Downtown Elmira for sports, entertainment, and community events.  As we enter a long-term contract with a new hockey team, The Aviators, we are pleased to announce a long-term partner for the naming rights.  

The facility will now be named the LECOM Events Center.  Since establishing the Elmira Campus of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, LECOM has become an integral part of the fabric of life for our community and continues with strong support for our institutions.

“LECOM believes in fostering stronger, healthier, and more vibrant communities around each of our campus locations. By partnering with the Chemung County IDA in support of the Events Center, we aim to not only enhance the well-being of the Elmira community, but also aid in creating a positive environment for businesses, families, and individuals to thrive,” said LECOM president Dr. John Ferretti.  

IDA Chairman Mark Margeson remarked “The new partnership is another example of the community recognizing the efforts to upgrade and revitalize the facility.  Concerts, Community meetings, and sports continue to be added to the calendar.”

The exterior of the building will be repainted and new signage erected before the new hockey season which starts on October 4th.

 

[Pvt Snowball 44]

On 7/29/2021 at 2:32 PM, KarenK said:

I don't think they ever had an official buyer did they?  Everyone wanted to lease or have contingencies that continued to make Elmira/Chemung County mostly responsible.  Tearing it down may be the most economically feasible way to go.

Or sell it to the guy who owns most of the buildings in that block 

[command_prompt 299]

Since LECOM uses Elmira College's resources (for more info check https://lecom.edu/college-of-osteopathic-medicine/elmira-ny/), is there a chance of having the Eagles play/practice at the newly renamed building instead of heading to the Murray Athletic Center - aka The Domes - in northern Horseheads? Sorry, I will most likely continue to call it "Arena" for a while; a habit. 

[Beekeeper 50]

My guess is since EC owns the Domes and the arena is probably not allowed to let EC practice free while charging others, EC will continue to practice and play in the domes.  I have heard that EC is adding a turf field to campus to reduce the travel to the Domes.

[KarenK 512]

2 hours ago, Beekeeper said:

My guess is since EC owns the Domes and the arena is probably not allowed to let EC practice free while charging others, EC will continue to practice and play in the domes.  I have heard that EC is adding a turf field to campus to reduce the travel to the Domes.

You would think the Domes were in Buffalo.  It's literally 15 minutes away from Elmira to the Domes.

[Beekeeper 50]

I am sure the arena would love to charge for the Elmira hockey games to be there..Just not sure EC is interested.

[Chris 3,379]

Apparently last night was the first home game for the Jackals, Mammoth, River Sharks, Enforcers  Aviators and it was sparsly attended, at least according to Councilman Brinn's recent post:

This is, as anyone who's been paying attention to this for the past 20+ years, it's simply not sustainable. 

This is not a "hockey town," no matter how much they spend and try to guilt trip people into making it one. When will they get it through their heads?!?

[Twin Tiers Living 525]

Quote

 

ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – The LECOM Event Center in downtown Elmira is lining up more shows on its calendar. The agency running the arena is hoping more people start showing up at events, including Elmira Aviators Hockey. That’s because so far this year, the arena is losing nearly half-a-million dollars.

18 News obtained a copy of a a financial report that was presented at a Nov. 14th meeting of the Chemung County Industrial Development Agency.

“The one thing that is bothering me a little bit, is the events that we’re having, we don’t seem to be making any money on them,” said Rick Noterfonzo, the Finance Director at the LECOM Event Center. “So, we need to really take a hard look at the events that we are getting in here.”

 

Read the rest here.

[Zapp Brannigan 253]

31 minutes ago, Twin Tiers Living said:

Read the rest here.

Maybe if downtown had some parking other than the homeless shelter/parking garage more people would attend events

[KarenK 512]

3 hours ago, Zapp Brannigan said:

Maybe if downtown had some parking other than the homeless shelter/parking garage more people would attend events

All cities with Arena's are set up that way.  I was in Glens Falls a month ago and we were gonna run and grab some food at one of the gastropubs right in that city.   There was a rodeo at the Arena that night and there was no parking for miles.   It was the same way when I lived up there 20 years ago.  I also recall complaints about it in the newspaper there as well.

Maybe they should look into a rodeo at LECOM. Sure drew a crowd, or at least with the parking situation it looked that way.

[Chris 3,379]

I see they have Scotty McCreery scheduled at the Arena. A good booking:
 

According to Google, his fee is anywhere from $75k-$150k

Looking at a website with all of his upcoming dates ( Elmira isn’t on there yet ) the ticket prices are all over the place. First Arena (LECOM, whatever… ) has a capacity of 3,784 for hockey. Depending on how many they can seat in the floor, you’re looking at about $35-40 per ticket, not including Ticketmaster and whatever other fees. That’s just to pay the artist’s fee. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re looking at about a $50 ticket which honestly, isn’t bad. There’s no “bad seats” in the house for concerts.

I’m optimistic they could make some money on this one. And if so, that will prove that it’s time for Elmira to enter the big time, even if only at an entry level,  instead of bringing in tribute acts time and again.

[Chris 3,379]

Oh and by the way, that building is perfect for an indoor Irish festival. We used to do one at a municipal building in Watertown and the place was packed all day. There’s not a lot of them in March, the weather generally sucks outdoors, and while I’d want nothing to do with organizing it, I know a band.

Actually, I know a LOT of bands to fill the schedule.

 

[MsKreed 1,621]

38 minutes ago, Chris said:

According to Google, his fee is anywhere from $75k-$150k

Looking at a website with all of his upcoming dates ( Elmira isn’t on there yet ) the ticket prices are all over the place. First Arena (LECOM, whatever… ) has a capacity of 3,784 for hockey. Depending on how many they can seat in the floor, you’re looking at about $35-40 per ticket, not including Ticketmaster and whatever other fees. That’s just to pay the artist’s fee. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re looking at about a $50 ticket which honestly, isn’t bad. There’s no “bad seats” in the house for concerts.

I’m optimistic they could make some money on this one. And if so, that will prove that it’s time for Elmira to enter the big time, even if only at an entry level,  instead of bringing in tribute acts time and again.

I wish I could be optimistic....but feel like Charlie Brown expecting Lucy to hold the ball this time. LOL

The balance sheets for the recent "large events" are included in the financial report (HERE).

The "Show Cost" for the event/talent to appear were 60-66% of the ticket and sales. Then the local expenses seem to be running $30-40k per event....and add up to more than the Show Costs.  

 "Hard Hit Productions" have nothing but a an address and phone number online (no website, so nothing about its ownership or services are publicly listed).   Since advertising, staffing and security are completely separate expenses, it' not clear who or what they are. 

Whatever they're doing, they seem to be consistently profiting from the Arena. 

 

 

 

[Chris 3,379]

3 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

Hard Hit Productions" have nothing but a an address and phone number online (no website, so nothing about its ownership or services are publicly listed).   Since advertising, staffing and security are completely separate expenses, it' not clear who or what they are. 

Sound and lighting company.

[MsKreed 1,621]

9 minutes ago, Chris said:

Sound and lighting company.

OK, that makes some sense, although it seems a little steep in comparison to other expenses. 

[Adam 545]

19 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

"Hard Hit Productions" have nothing but a an address and phone number online (no website, so nothing about its ownership or services are publicly listed). 

only thing i could find was Bruce Perron is the owner. 

i was curious as to who hes connected to, to be pulling in those fees

[Chris 3,379]

8 hours ago, Adam said:

only thing i could find was Bruce Perron is the owner. 

i was curious as to who hes connected to, to be pulling in those fees

It’s not just some guy with a couple of speakers and an 8 channel board, it’s a LOT of work. Depending on the size of the event, they have to haul in and set up the stage, light rigging, run a ton of cables, etc. And if my guess is correct, they have to charge union rates, but I don’t know that for certain.

[MsKreed 1,621]

3 hours ago, Chris said:

And if my guess is correct, they have to charge union rates, but I don’t know that for certain.

There are a lot of places required to use union labor or "prevailing wage". 

When I saw "union labor" as a distinct line item, my initial thought was it could be sound/lighting, as that would naturally be much more than the "event labor". For skilled trades in this region, that's $40+50/hr (and $25-30/hr for "assistants").  Assuming all skilled labor level at the top wage of $400 per 8 hour shift. These two events had 20-30 Union workers each.

Now I'm not clear on whether that union labor listed is 20-30 union workers in addition to union labor for sound/lighting that the HH fees cover.  

Either way, they need to examine their business model.  If each and every stage event is going to cost $30-40k to open the doors (before any costs for the artists or events are even considered), then nothing is ever going to break even unless they're guaranteed that it will be a "sold out" show. 

**and to clarify...and event "breaking even" is still a loss for the Arena. They'd need to realize a net revenue gain at each event to pay for all the year round expenses overhead, utilities, insurance etc. 

Edited December 4, 2024 by MsKreed

[Chris 3,379]

14 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

Now I'm not clear on whether that union labor listed is 20-30 union workers in addition to union labor for sound/lighting that the HH fees cover.  

If I had to guess, I would say that there's no additional labor other than the unon stage/ crew that is there already. If I remember correctly from the last time we worked with HH, there was at least three guys there just taking care of the sound. But you'd need a whole lot more to haul in all the equipment, set it up, etc. which is where the other people come in to play. I would hazard a guess that HH has to charge union wages for the guys running the board and all that. Not to mention the insurance and whatever else and then make a profit. 

There's also a musicians' union, but I don't know if that's separate or part of the stage hands' group. My guess is it's separate, but I don't really know. I have as little to do with any of that stuff as I can. I got a taste of it once for an event we put on at the arena years ago and that was more than enough for me. ( "Damn guys, sorry we went over the time we thought... wait, where's the stage stairs?!?" )

[MsKreed 1,621]

30 minutes ago, Chris said:

If I had to guess, I would say that there's no additional labor other than the unon stage/ crew that is there already. If I remember correctly from the last time we worked with HH, there was at least three guys there just taking care of the sound. But you'd need a whole lot more to haul in all the equipment, set it up, etc. which is where the other people come in to play. I would hazard a guess that HH has to charge union wages for the guys running the board and all that. Not to mention the insurance and whatever else and then make a profit. 

There's also a musicians' union, but I don't know if that's separate or part of the stage hands' group. My guess is it's separate, but I don't really know. I have as little to do with any of that stuff as I can. I got a taste of it once for an event we put on at the arena years ago and that was more than enough for me. ( "Damn guys, sorry we went over the time we thought... wait, where's the stage stairs?!?" )

I’m not saying the sound/lights isn’t a legitimate expense.

I’m just noting that between HH fees (for their equipment, labor and expenses, insurance, etc) plus the additional “union labor” cost on the next line.....that was $21,000 to $24,000 (40-60% of the sales revenue) for these events.  

Then they are showing another 25-30% of the gate/revenue for other costs (including non-union labor for the event & security staff).  

So that's expenses amounting to 65-80% of the revenue being spent on top of the artist/show costs (of over 60%).  

I just don’t see that being sustainable.

[Chris 3,379]

6 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

I’m not saying the sound/lights isn’t a legitimate expense.

Oh I didn't take it that way at all. I completely agree that it's easy to see why an event wouldn't be profitiable. And no, it isn't sustainable at all.

[Twin Tiers Living 525]

From Facebook:

What some people don’t understand is that the Arena is not owned or operated by Chemung County. It is owned by the Chemung County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) and operated by the Chemung County Capital Resource Corporation (CCCRC), which is a municipal subsidiary of the CCIDA. While the Board members of the CCIDA are appointed by the County Legislature, the CCIDA itself operates independent of both the County Legislature and the County Executive’s Office. Therefore, neither branch controls financial decisions being made by the either organization.

While many see the Arena as the nucleus of downtown Elmira, its inability to maintain a constant fan base or experience an annual profit or breakeven is verified by the numerous owners and operators since its opening in 2000. Last month, WETM aired a story in reference to the Arena and its operating losses in 2024. Unfortunately, the story only scratched the surface on the true cost and losses to operate the Arena. While the Arena is currently being operated by the CCCRC, the CCIDA is actually funding the Arena, by financially supporting the CCCRC. What's troubling is the same individuals serve as Chairperson, Treasurer, and Board members for both organizations. The information that wasn’t included in the WETM story was the cost to the CCIDA for operation of the Arena, which was approximately $1.9 million from 1/1/24 through 12/17/24. During the period from 1/1/23-12/31/23, the CCIDA expenses were $1.4 million, for an approximate total of $3.4 million in an 18-month period. These numbers aren't known to the media or the public because they're discussed and reviewed in "Executive Session" barring adequate transparency. Regardless of your feelings on the Arena, the current model of operation is unsustainable and the IDA is on track to deplete its fund balance over the next 24 months, absent being able to substantially increase annual revenue streams. It’s time for the CCIDA Board to review their fiduciary responsibilities on the financial stability of both organizations as well as internal processes involving procurement which continue to be ignored.

In the majority of counties throughout New York State, IDA’s focus involves the creation and retention of businesses and jobs. The operation of the Arena has unfortunately distracted the Board from acting on its core mission.

Attached are multiple financial documents furnished by the Chemung County IDA relative 2024 profit and loss statements, as well as a balance sheet(s) outlining the various expenses related to the CCIDA involving the operation of the Arena.

See the statement here.

[Twin Tiers Living 525]

[Chris 3,379]

Margeson mentioned private ownership and that right there is what's needed. With no interference and/or onjection of money by the county in any way, shape or form.