Now Arena to maintain higher pay through at least August
Pay increases that enabled the village-owned Now Arena in Hoffman Estates to overcome a scarcity of labor over the past four months have been extended beyond their Dec. 31 deadline to Aug. 31.
But Ben Gibbs, the arena's general manager, hopes to hold off for at least six months on raising ticket prices, parking fees and rental costs to pay for the added labor costs.
Even if the time comes to do, Gibbs believes the increases would be subtle.
"I don't want to pass along the costs just yet," he said. "I don't think it would be anything dramatic or anything most promoters would notice."
The village board last summer approved pay increases of 13% to 30%, depending on the job position, for the Andy Frain Services employees who staff the 11,000-seat arena. When the facility reopened in September after a 16-month shutdown from the pandemic, Gibbs found himself facing a labor shortage unprecedented during his career.
"It's working," Gibbs said of the pay hikes. "It did exactly what we intended to do. It's been effective, so that's good. But the labor shortage is continuing."
Despite his years of experience, Gibbs said he has no way to predict the labor market when the arena's next contract with Andy Frain Services would begin next Sept. 1.
"What the last year has a taught us is that it's very hard to predict anything," he said.
The contracts for such services have typically run for three to five years, but Gibbs believes vendors may request shorter contracts given the unpredictability of the market.
The Now Arena uses Andy Frain Services for most of its event staff, including ticket-takers, ushers and security. The exceptions are concessionaires and cleaners, who have not been as difficult to find and retain, Gibbs said.
As far as concessionaires, there's even a precedent for nonprofits to provide workers to raise money for their organizations and events, he added.