Hoffman Estates forms commission to deal with Sears Centre takeover
Hoffman Estates officials will form a five-member commission charged with reviewing proposals submitted by firms interesting in running the Sears Centre.
Trustees Gary Pilafas and Raymond Kincaid, as well as Plan Commission Chairman Gary Stanton and economic development Commissioners Georgeanna Mehr and Joel Koening, will make up the village's Arena Support Commission. They'll report to the village board and were selected after trustees gave their input to Mayor William McLeod.
"I think it's one of these cases where we needed something like this," McLeod said. "It's obviously a serious issue."
The ad hoc group's job will include reviewing documents and helping prepare for the arena's anticipated transition from private to village control. Village officials said proposals have been floated between the arena's majority owner, the Ryan Cos., and the village.
The 11,000-seat arena, off Route 59 and the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, has struggled to draw shows and fill seats and posted a $9.4 million net loss last year. The village backed a $55 million loan to Ryan to build the arena in 2005. Once the village takes control of the building, the village will be responsible for the loan.
Pilafas, along with McLeod and Deputy Village Manager Dan O'Malley, attended the International Association of Assembly Managers annual conference last weekend, where they met with arena managers and officials from municipalities from around the country that also own arenas.
Village officials seemed pleased after the conference and said there's been a shift to smaller venues with the same capacity of the Sears Centre.
"A lot of the operators are very excited about the building's potential," Pilafas said.
The village wants to have proposals for running the Sears Centre sent to three to five arena management firms by mid-August, he said. A deal could then be struck by fall after the firms' reviewing booking, marketing and management strategies. These firms would assume the day-to-day operations of the venue, and help book shows.
AEG Live, SMG and Global Spectrum have already shown interest. Pilafas said the Ryan Cos., which currently runs the arena under the name CCO Entertainment, might also be in the mix. But CCO is an independent group that lacks the national networks of the other three. Village officials have said having that national pool from which to draw acts would be essential to the arena's success.
Pilafas also said management groups told them they're interested in meeting the current staff at the Sears Centre, with an interest in retaining some of the employees.