Only one firm applies to take over city-owned entertainment venues

Chilhowee Park in E.Knoxville.

The international venue management firm the city hired to in an emergency pinch to oversee the daily operations at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum and Chilhowee Park was the only company to submit a proposal to take over the venues full time.

The deadline to submit a proposal was late February, and only SMG applied for the job, said city spokesman Jesse Mayshark.

At this point, though, details about the bid will remain sealed until the contract is negotiated, he said.
But, the existing contract expires at the end of June and officials “would like to get a new one in place by then,” according to Mayshark.

Under the plan, the company must keep the venues' 30 or so employees on board for a 60-day period.

“We’ve also encouraged (employees) who want to remain city employees to look for positions in the city and a number of them have been able to get positions in the city in other departments,” Mayshark said.

Working for the city enables the employees to keep city-provided benefits and pensions.

The city hired SMG on an emergency basis last October to oversee the three venues. The company at the time managed the Knoxville Convention Center.

The firm prior to October earned $250,000 but that was for only the convention center. The firm did not charge the city for the services under the emergency contract.

The emergency contract came less than a month after the city fired thee Coliseum employees and the facility’s general manager retired after officials discovered payroll irregularities.

Officials at the time noted that during SMG’s tenure overseeing the convention center, the facility has cut operation costs by $1 million.

Officials also suggested that a private firm might be able to use its professional connections to bring in new and more events to the facilities.

The Knoxville Convention Center averages 240 events per year and has welcomed more than 3 million visitors since it opened in 2002.

The city’s Auditorium and Coliseum featured more than 160 performances last year and brought in almost 250,000 people. Events include Ice Bears hockey games, Disney on Ice, concerts, Knoxville Pops, dance recitals, school productions, STEP shows and professional wrestling.

Chilhowee Park receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, although the majority of them attend the Tennessee Valley Fair in September. Other events include a variety of animal, antique, gun and car shows, as well as a Remote Area Medical patient care events Xfinity Christmas; and the Eighth of August celebration.

Meeting set to discuss future of Civic Auditorium and Coliseum

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, City staff and consultants from Conventions, Sports and Leisure International will discuss the recently completed feasibility study for the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum at a Jan. 14 public meeting at 6 p.m. in the Civic Auditorium located at 500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave., according to a news release.

You can find the study RIGHT SMACK HERE.

The study considers three alternatives: retaining the current structures with minimal upgrades; renovating and redeveloping the complex; and completely replacing the complex.

Cost estimates for various options within those alternatives range from $26 million to $279.5 million. The study also estimates the direct and indirect economic benefits of each of the scenarios.

For anyone unable to attend the public meeting, comments can be submitted via email to comments@knoxvilletn.gov.

Officials: Knoxville venues need $4.2M, but not all about the money

The city is expected to put up a combined $4.2 million this year so that its three biggest public venues break even.

Broken down that’s $1.4 million for the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum, $951,660 for Chilhowee Park, and almost $1.8 million for the Convention Center.

The city, this year, set aside $9.5 million in its public assembly facilities budget, which covers the three venues. The operations are projected to bring in more than $5 million in combined revenues from the events each hosts.

The money, however, isn’t necessarily a concern for Knoxville leaders. They told WBIR 10News that the city puts more of an emphasis on running an efficient operation and trying to close the gap between how much each of the facilities makes and how much the city has to chip in so that the bottom line is met.

“What we look for in all our venues is to run them as efficiently and as effectively as we can (and) to minimize the amount of general fund support that goes to those venues,” said Knoxville Finance Director Jim York. “No venue in the country of this type typically makes money, so our best case is that we try to break even, but that would be optimistic.”

York said city leaders want the venues to provide entertainment and tourism, which will have spill-over effects that help benefit the entire community.

“We think that is a meaningful usage of public funds,” he said.

For more about the costs and the city's proposal to use an outside firm to manage the three facilities, click RIGHT HERE.

Firm to oversee city's auditorium, coliseum, Chilhowee Park for now

 Chilhowee Park. 

The City of Knoxville has hired international venue management company SMG to temporarily oversee daily operations at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum and Chilhowee Park, and by the end of the year, city officials will issue a Request for Proposals for a company to permanently take over these venues.

During the interim contract, SMG will oversee about 30 city employees and manage event booking and daily operations for the facilities. SMG already manages the Knoxville Convention Center, which averages 240 events per year and has welcomed more than 3 million visitors since it opened in 2002.

“We have been very impressed with SMG’s work at the Convention Center, and they have the level of professional expertise we need to keep our venues operating while we pursue a longer-term solution to our management needs,” said Christi Branscom, Deputy to the Mayor and the City’s Chief Operating Officer. “SMG will ensure a great experience for the audiences, performers, sports teams and event organizers who use our facilities.”

SMG will not charge a management fee under the emergency contract, but the city will pay the company’s reimbursable operating expenses.

The future of the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum has been questioned in recent years. The city hired Urban Land Institute to examine the best uses of it and several other city owned properties. The group suggested that the city should do away with the facility altogether, and turn the area into a "vibrant, desirable, mixed-use community that includes diverse housing types and households."

In addition, the general manager of the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum retired and three other employees were fired earlier this month after an investigation discovered payroll irregularities.

Three Coliseum workers fired, one retires in wake of investigation

The City of Knoxville’s general manager of the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum retired and 3 other employees were fired today after a Knoxville Police Department Internal Affairs investigation discovered financial irregularities involving almost $4,800.

General Manager Dale Dunn retired today, and Assistant General Manager Robert Sandoval, Stage Manager Tom Kelly and Financial Analyst Salina Garrett were terminated.

The investigation showed that Sandoval had used a false name to submit payment records for working events at the Coliseum that he was already being paid to work as a salaried employee. Dunn and Kelly had signed the forms, and Garrett submitted the paperwork, all knowing that Sandoval was being paid additional money by a third party for working the shifts. There is no indication that Dunn, Kelly or Garrett benefited financially.

No City funds were lost in the extra payments. Sandoval, a salaried City employee, also is a member of the International Alliance Theatrical Stage Employees union. To be paid by an event promoter for working a Coliseum event, Sandoval is alleged to have submitted a form with the fake name to the City while sending two copies of the same form to the union that reflected his real name.

The payments to Sandoval from event promoters through the union, typically about $65 each, totaled $4,755.50 over 4½ years.

The KPD investigation found no evidence that any other employee had used a fake name.

The investigation into financial irregularities involving the promoters’ payments to Sandoval began due to internal oversight measures in the City’s Public Assembly Facilities Department, which oversees the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum. Additional safeguards have since been instituted.

“We’ve taken extra steps to enhance accountability,” Public Assembly Facilities Director Greg Mackay said. “We’ve changed how the form is reviewed and processed to prevent this from recurring.”

Meanwhile, Mackay said that experienced Civic Auditorium and Coliseum staff members will manage already-scheduled events at the facility and will continue booking new events.

“The Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum will continue to offer entertaining and well-managed events,” Mackay said. “Changes in management will not affect the experience of fans who will be cheering on the Ice Bears or families who will be enjoying ‘Disney on Ice’ or any other upcoming events.”

Fourth city worker on paid leave

A fourth Knoxville Civic Auditorium & Coliseum employee has been placed on leave as part of an investigation by the Knoxville Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit.

City leaders have said little about the probe, but confirmed that on Friday the mayor’s office placed Salina Garrett on paid administrative leave for 14 days.

Garret, a financial analyst with the Coliseum, makes about $50,000 annually.

Rest of story RIGHT HERE.

Three Coliseum employees on paid leave, pending investigation

Three Knoxville Civic Auditorium & Coliseum employees including the general manager are on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Knoxville Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit.

Civic Coliseum General Manager Dale Dunn, Assistant General Manager Robert Sandoval, and stage manager Tom Kelly were placed on leave earlier this week.

“It is still being conducted and (not yet) concluded, so we can’t give any details about what they’re looking at,” said Jesse Mayshark, the city’s communications director.

KPD’s Internal Affairs typically handles allegations of misconduct involving city employees, Mayshark said.

Records show that Dunn earns $105,940 annually; Sandoval makes $70,304; and Kelly makes $48,090.

“Until the investigation is concluded, there’s no determination as to who did what or if anyone did anything,” Mayshark said.

Rehab or raze: Feasibility study to determine Civic Coliseum's future

Knoxville leaders are looking into whether to renovate or raze the city's antiquated Civic Auditorium and Coliseum.

The downtown performance arena is home to a number of sports teams, including one of its main tenants, the Knoxville Ice Bears professional ice hockey team.

The arena has also featured thousands of world-class acts since it opened in 1961. During the past five decades, it's hosted circuses, theatrical productions, musicals, comedians, and major concerts, including the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder.

"We get people from all over to come to these shows," said Greg Mackay, director of public assembly facilities for the City of Knoxville. "It's the one place people are drawn to."

Although the 50-year-old facility has a lot of history, Mackay says it also has some major problems.

When it was designed in the 1950s, for example, musical performers stacked their speakers on the floor. Now they hang them from the roof trusses, which aren't strong enough to hold them.

Mackay added that other issues stopped the city from investing in a new wooden sports floor that would allow the coliseum to host volleyball and basketball competitions."We're having trouble because we don't know where to store it [the sports floor]," he said. "We can't store it downstairs because we have a leaky basement and the humidity would warp the wood."

Mackay also said that the concessions and bathrooms are in dire need of updates. And, officials would like to improve the acoustics and install LED lights in the auditorium. The outdoor plaza is also deteriorating with large cracks in the pavement.

If the city is willing to spend the money, Mackay says most of the current problems can be fixed. But before anyone sinks more cash into the old building, the city wants a professional to conduct a feasibility study to determine if the investment is worth it.

"We're going to get some outside experts to look at the condition of the building and tell us should we do a minor renovation, should we do a large renovation, or maybe it's time to build a new one," said Mackay. "Before we start making a piecemeal fix, we want to look at the big picture and decide what we're going to do."

Check out the full story right here.