CIty officials not worried about Global

The name of the company involved might be the same, but Independence city officials agree that the situations are entirely different.
In early June, Global Entertainment, the developer and operator of the Independence Events Center, was fired at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Wash., based on the center falling short of projected revenues.
It wasn’t the first time.
Rio Rancho, N.M., terminated its contract with Global in January to operate the city’s Santa Ana Star Center. In late June, Rio Rancho city officials claimed that several companies and the city are still owed about $367,000 by Global Entertainment. Global Entertainment officials maintain that they don’t owe the debt.
In 2007, Youngstown, Ohio, ended its agreement with Global to operate a similar event center.
But Independence City Manager Robert Heacock said the situations are incomparable with Independence and its financing strategies for the Independence Events Center, which is scheduled to open in early November. The $60 million project is funded with tax revenue from a community improvement district levied at the commercial area near interstates 70 and 470.
A half-cent sales tax surcharge also was added to purchases in the CID. Contractually, Global Entertainment is required to create a $500,000 operating reserve fund in Independence, Heacock said, and any additional shortfalls in operating costs would then become Global’s responsibility.
“The first year is always the most challenging year because you’re trying to make your way in the market. While there are no guarantees, we’ve done what we can to protect the city’s interest,” Heacock said. “The facility is going to be a state-of-the-art facility, and it’s going to be very attractive to manage and operate.”
Independence native and Fort Osage High School graduate Mike Young was hired as the event center’s first general manager in January. Young said the city of Independence has been proactive in limiting potential event center issues, such as offering entirely free parking at all events.
“That encourages people to attend our venue because they’re going to save $10 to $20 right off the bat,” Young said. “They also had the foresight to understand that smaller venues are the way of the future.”
In Barry Kohlus’ opinion, the outcomes in Wenatchee, Rio Rancho and Youngstown will have no effect on Independence’s project. Kohlus is a senior vice president of operations for Encore Facility Management, which serves as Global Entertainment’s facility management group.
With Global’s contract effective until Sept. 1, Kohlus spent three days this week in Wenatchee at the Town Toyota Center, assuring employees the company still supports the facility. 
“The Independence Events Center will operate in a fiscally sound manner, and it will not be burdened with some of the problems that previous centers were burdened with,” he said. “I think the Independence Events Center has a wonderful opportunity to bring a lot of different options for people in Independence and surrounding communities.”
In attempts to resolve Wenatchee’s requests, Global Entertainment fired its finance manager at the Town Toyota Center and made additional adjustments to the management agreement, Kohlus said.
“I can’t tell you my real response,” Kohlus replied when asked what his initial response was to the Wenatchee firing. “To be really honest with you, I was surprised. I was perplexed. We had complied with all of their requests. They had asked of us some things that we complied with in mid-May, and then three weeks later, on the eve of our corporate summer conference, they chose to terminate our contract. I felt the timing was a little pre-destined or pre-ordained, and I was frustrated because we had complied with their requests.”
Tom Lesnak, president of the Independence Council for Economic Development, agrees the other cities’ outcomes hold no significance for Independence.
“I don’t think it means anything, primarily because if you had to compare the contracts with the different cities, the safeguards that were put in Independence didn’t exist in the other cities,” Lesnak said. “In every situation, I think Global is different – there are reasons those things happen. We saw that these facilities do not pay for themselves, so that’s why we put the sales tax in place.”
Global Entertainment was established in 2000.