Arena supporters rally, answer questions

Global Entertainment Properties I president Steve Bielewicz was among Referendum 400 supporters who attended a rally Wednesday.for the proposed Yuma events center Wednesday at Buffalo Wild Wings at the Yuma Palms Regional Center.

Bielewicz said he has heard and read a lot of incorrect assumptions about the $53 million, 6,000-seat center, which would be located at the corner of Castle Dome Road and East 8th Street.

He said the project’s timetable – Global Entertainment is entering its third year of involvement with the city of Yuma – was among the main reasons for opposition. He said Global Entertainment averages one to two years for a proposed arena to go from the planning stages into fruition, and that the company would prefer to be able to fully answer public questions prior to going public with information.

Bielewicz said because the first hearing on the matter was open to the public and full information was not available, there was a lot of "misinformation" being used. Among the misconceptions, he said, was the idea that Global Entertainment has signed a contract with the city of Yuma to manage the arena and that the group’s finances were not solid.

Bielewicz said the company has not signed any contract – Referendum 400 allows city officials to move forward to find more information, but does not guarantee an arena or any managing company affiliation – with the city of Yuma. He said his company, which manages but does not own events centers, just “added 20 percent to the staff” and is involved with numerous properties, none of which it would take on if financing was not assured.

Bielewicz confirmed Global Entertainment has spoken with representatives in El Centro, Calif., but that Yuma is the preferred market and that there's "not a market we've worked in that (other cities inquiring) hasn't happened."

Bielewicz answered Sun staff questions for approximately one hour on Wednesday, and video of that conversation will be available online soon at www.yumasun.com. He said average ticket prices were $11 for hockey and $25 for arena football, with most other entertainment within that range.

He said a sports team recently vacated Cardinals Stadium in Glendale because it costs $20,000 to provide security and concession workers, among others, for any event. Global Entertainment arenas cost $1,500-$2,000 a night to open, he said, making them affordable for community functions. He said many opposing parties note that an arena in Prescott has less than 10 acts per year. He said the community functions like school events or trade shows often do not get counted because they don't sell tickets.

“We have a saying,” Bielewicz said. “Be afraid of the dark. We don’t want an arena dark.”

Officials of the Arizona Sundogs, which are based in Prescott and use a Global Entertainment-affiliated arena, set up a large board showing pictures of the arena. Yuma’s proposed arena would, if city officials select Global Entertainment as the managing company, have the same basic interior layout, as all Global Entertainment venues do. Its outside would be specifically designed.

The inside similarities, Bielewicz said, are an attraction for potential acts.

"It's easier to get entertainers to go if the setup is easy," he said. If acts can setup in six hours, because of knowing the layout and structure of a building, road crews are more likely to be willing to go, an aspect that aids entertainers, Bielewicz said.

He noted Global Entertainment signed James Taylor to play in a building, and Taylor enjoyed it, and would continue to visit similarly sized venues in the future.

"Ninety percent of the traveling acts will play in our arena," Bielewicz said.

HEAT, a group supporting Referendum 400, organized the rally, which offered information on the events center as well as games for children, appearances by Global Entertainment-affiliated team mascots, opportunities for citizens to ask questions about the proposal and a live performance by the Yuma-based band Demise of Hollywood.

HEAT chairwoman Jeanine Rhea said the rally was a way for the public to gain information. She said the support has been solid, but that there were misperceptions by some citizens and this was a way to gain better access and insights to facts.

Yuma events center supporter Tom Pancrazi clarified that Referendum 400 does not tie the city of Yuma to Global Entertainment and that any proposed arena would not immediately raise taxes. He also said the events center would belong to the city, not any managing company, and that Yuma was simply proposing using a management company because of their expertise.

Projected revenues from the arena and area taxes are expected, according to three studies, to fall within $600,000 and $1.6 million. Any of the three numbers would likely cover funding costs, Pancrazi said.

“And those did not take into account the Mexican area base or our winter visitors,” Pancrazi said. He said there would likely be shortfalls of business funding in the short term as the move into the area and begin operations.

If arena revenues do not meet expectations, the city would take money from the general fund to cover costs. But taxes would not directly increase. If the funding shortfall is severe enough, something supporters say will not happen and opponents say is a real possibility, then the city would likely have to trim the budget in some capacity or raise taxes to meet need.

“Referendum 400 doesn’t commit us to anything,” Pancrazi said. “It just gives the city the go-ahead to gather more information.”

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Editor's Note: Story corrected on Oct. 10, 2008. Steve Bielewicz is President of Global Properties I. Global Entertainment is the parent company to Globals Properties I.