Grand Forks' Alerus Center canceled the contract with the facility managers at VenuWorks months ago but now the company is back with a new offer: If you don't make money, we don't make money.
Should the city-owned arena and convention center fail to break even at the end of next year, company president Steve Peters said he will return all the management fees. It's an offer he has not made to any of the other events centers that Ames, Iowa-based VenuWorks manages, he said.
When Peters was in town in May, Alerus Center commissioners told him they felt the center didn't need his company any more.
"It's like a relationship between a man and woman," commissioner David Evenson told him. "Sometimes you have to take time apart and see if you're right for each other."
On Monday, Peters sounded like a contrite lover begging for a second chance.
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He pledged not just to give back the fees but to listen more. "We weren't hearing your concerns," he said, calling the Alerus Center his company's "flagship" client. "You deserve our full attention. You deserve our top attention."
Commissioners peppered Peters with questions but ultimately chose to take VenuWorks back, though just for a year to see what it's like.
New day
"What will be different in the future from the way things have been?" Peters asked in a written proposal to the commission.
VenuWorks will listen more and respond to the commission's concerns, he wrote. He promised that any problem that arises will be addressed within 72 hours.
The company will help the commission find a new executive director. Former director Charlie Jeske resigned in August before the contract was officially over. Peters said the first interviews could take place within two to three weeks.
He would personally work with the commission to develop budgets and set goals and policies. Another top executive at VenuWorks corporate headquarters would be involved as well: Tammy Koolbeck, vice president of venue services. Peters boasted that she's worked both for a hotel attached to a convention center and for a convention center attached to a hotel.
Commissioner Curt Kreun wanted to know what kind of events VenuWorks could bring in given the concert industry's shift away from smaller markets such as Grand Forks. Peters replied he still thinks the company can deliver one or two 10,000-attendance concerts annually.
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If expenses were higher than expected, Evenson asked, would VenuWorks cut staff just to qualify for the management fees? Peters said existing staffing levels is appropriate, and there are no plans to downsize.
Tran reports on City Hall. Reach him at (701) 780-1248 or ttran@gfherald.com or see his blog at www.areavoices.com/gfhcitybeat .
