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'Save Century II' drive |
finds many supporters |
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Arts patrons are petitioning against Wichita's plan to have the center privately managed. The city manager say the concerns are misguided.
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By Christina M. Woods
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The Wichita Eagle August 6, 2005
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Most times it took only an "Excuse me, would you like to sign our petition to keep Century II as is?" to get people to stop and sign. Many didn't mind the slight interruption Sunday to sign the petition, circulated by a grassroots group, Friends of Century II, to keep the convention and performing arts center from being privately managed.
The signatures kept coming as people filled Century II's Concert Hall for Music Theatre of Wichita's production of "Aida."
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So far the group has more than 1,700 signatures, which are being collected in person and online. The petition will be delivered to city leaders later this year.
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Current Signatures on the petition
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Century II Attracts 3 Private Bidders |
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Lilly Rockwell
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Wichita Eagle July 19, 2005
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Three private management companies have officially said "Pick me!" to the city's request for managers of Century II...
Critics of the privatization plan say out-of-town management companies would be more concerned with turning a profit than keeping smaller, local events such as the Garden Show or Home Show.
SMG and Global are similar, with extensive national resumes, and both have had recent conflicts over facilities management.
Compass is smaller and concentrates on Midwestern venues.
... the owner of a private Elmira, N.Y., arena decided in April not to extend its contract because, according to a local newspaper, it didn't respond to the needs of the community.
Kabatznick said the owner of the Elmira arena and SMG came to a "mutual agreement" that it leave its 10-year contract five years early....
Like SMG, Global Spectrum had problems in April when it was asked to discontinue management of a Texas arena. The company then sued the city of Hidalgo, Texas, for breach of contract but settled out of court.
The city said it had received complaints of mismanagement, according to an article in the McAllen Monitor newspaper.
Russo said conflicts such as that are bound to happen.
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Century II stakeholders |
criticize plan |
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 Local event promoters are worried they will be passed over for more profitable patrons.
BY DION LEFLER The Wichita Eagle July 13, 2005
The manager of the Wichita Garden Show on Tuesday blasted city plans to privatize management of the Century II convention center.
Representing a group of about 80 show and event promoters, Alex Lingg told the City Council that privatization would threaten more than 35 years of cooperation between Century II and events such as the Garden Show, the Home Show and the Women's Fair.
"Out-of-town management companies are driven to produce a greater profit," she said. "Consequently, events and conventions from out of town are given higher priority for use of Century II, causing local shows to be bumped out."
In addition, she complained that privatization would lead to higher rental charges and more mandates for management-provided services that would drive up costs and could shut down many of the locally promoted shows.
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City Shouldn’t Privatize, Sell Century II |
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Rod Stewart. Marge Setter. and Frank Chappell
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Wichita Eagle July 5, 2005
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As longtime citizens of Wichita and possessing a combined 60 years of working diligently for the growth and economic development of Wichita and her downtown, we are very alarmed about two proposals being discussed in government circles.
The first of these proposals is the privatization of the Century II convention center complex.
For a combined 35 years, we have served on the board of directors of the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau, serving as chairmen for five years combined. During that time, Century II was the proud symbol of our community. The bureau maintained a working relationship with the city management, which allowed the bureau to book the center from two years in advance. City management would book the center for immediate engagements up to two years out.
This system worked very well and resulted in Wichita achieving the "holy grail" of conventions, the National Bowling Congress. This policy also brought us the Future Farmers of America, four Miss USA pageants and one Miss Teen USA pageant. Countless other conventions, many of a religious nature, brightened our hotel rooms, made cash registers ring for our merchants and poured money into our community.
With Century II placed in private hands, there would be a 100 percent shift in emphasis from a public facility to a profit-making facility. The bureau could lose the ability to offer discounted rates on Century II to secure major business for the community.
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Don’ t Privatize Century II
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Harold P. Schletweg*
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Wichita Eagle op-ed page June 26, 2005
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The city of Wichita has issued a request for proposal asking responses to different management scenarios for the private operation of Century II. That such a solicitation can even go out shows city management has a profound misunderstanding of the importance of Century II to our community.
I suggest that those who are ready to gamble on the idea of privatization think carefully before they risk damaging a vital community institution.
It would be hard to find anyone in Wichita not affected by what happens to Century II. More than 82 local organizations annually rent space there for events. Tens of thousands of Wichitans and visitors to our city pass through the doors of Century II or Expo Hall to attend concerts, theater performances, exhibitions, high school graduations and other cultural events. Recent meetings of those concerned about the future of Century II have included organizations as diverse as the Wichita Area Builders Association and the Asian Festival.
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*Business Representative SEIU 513
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