Firms meet with Hoffman officials over Sears Centre
Hoffman Estates officials today will continue to meet representatives from firms interested in managing the Sears Centre arena.
Officials will speak with officials from West Conshohocken, Penn.-based SMG World today. Last week village officials met with members from Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum.
The deadline for firms to submit bids to manage the arena is Oct. 13, and firms which submit bids will be invited for formal interviews on Oct. 23. The village contacted four firms, hoping one of them would manage the building once the village assumes control of the arena with a Jan. 1 target date. Los Angeles-based AEG World and Ames, Iowa-based VenuWorks were the other two groups contacted. These firms would be in charge of scheduling events at the 11,000-seat arena off I-90 and Rt. 59.
"We feel quite confident that these are good candidates," Trustee Raymond Kincaid said after Monday's board meeting.
Kincaid is part of the village arena committee, which wants to see how these four firms will better utilize the arena for the community. Community use was stipulated in the original agreement in 2005, but the village seldom used the building, save the bioterrorism preparedness drill thrown last year by Cook County. Another example would be the Nov. 8 youth cheerleading event at the Sears Centre.
The arena committee will meet at 7 p.m. today at village hall to talk about such matters.
Village officials will eventually assume the financial responsibilities from Ryan Companies, the Minnesota developer, which is parent company of the current owners. The arena suffered an operating loss of more than $512,000 last year and struggled attracting crowds and events, which has led to Ryan's planned exit. The village will assume payments of the $55 million loan it backed for the construction of the arena in 2006. With interest, that could cost $88.4 million over 22 years.
The village filed for foreclosure against Ryan, but it's unclear if the village will take control of the building that way or if another agreement can be reached.
The cost of taking over the arena also hasn't been fully realized. The village board already approved hiking Village Attorney Art Janura's rate, as his firm has done additional work related to the arena transition. The village will also need to pay one of the firms. Based on recent deals with other arenas across the country, that could cost $125,000 to $250,000 per year.
At a meeting last month, Trustee Gary Pilafas asked public works officials how it would deal with plowing snow at the Sears Centre, one of the responsibilities the village would inherit once it takes control.
Public Works Director Kenneth Hari said the village has already contacted its snow plowing fleet to be ready to plow the 3,000 spaces at the arena. Much will be determined depending on when the plows are needed. It's one thing to plow the lots at 5 p.m. on a weekday. It's another to need snow removal late night on a weekend while a concert is taking place.
Meanwhile, the Sears Centre continues to operate. Season tickets for the Chicago Slaughter went on sale last week. Alan Perkins, general manager for the indoor football league, said the Slaughter will play the 2010 season at the Sears Centre, where they've played for the last two years. He wouldn't comment about future years.
The Sears Centre did manage to book a new event for Nov. 7. That's when a nationally-televised Strikeforce mixed-martial arts bout will take place. It's not the first time MMA has come to the arena, however officials hope more well-known names on the November card will draw a larger crowd.