By David Stanczak

Monday night, the Bloomington City Council approved a 90 day temporary contract with VenuWorks to run the U.S. Cellular Coliseum until a 5-year agreement can be brought back to the city for approval by the end of June.

By any standard, the proposed terms of the contract are a major improvement over the one with Central Illinois Arena Management, the old operator of the facility.  The fact that CIAM was created to manage the coliseum suggests that it was to some extent flying by the seat of its pants during its contract with the city.  The numbers over that period of time suggest that the city and its taxpayers were footing the bill for CIAM’s learning curve and inefficiency.  Couple that with CIAM’s lack of transparency, and it’s no wonder everyone is breathing a sigh of relief that that contract is over.  CIAM did not want to renew its contract with the city.  Whether it’s because it was as relieved as the city that the contract was over or its perception that the city wasn’t likely to renew it, or both, is unknown; characteristically, CIAM hasn’t said.

Transparency has become a big issue, and it’s easy to see why.  When we, collectively, are paying the bill for a facility, we want to understand how and why the bill is so large; nobody wants to be handed a bill and told to just shut up and pay it. VenuWorks gives every indication of understanding this principle. A comparison of what VenuWorks brings to the table and the tentative terms of the contract with the old contract and operator could make one wonder what the council that approved that 10 year deal was thinking.  But that is in the past; the focus needs to be ahead. Like it or not, the Coliseum is there, it’s the city’s, and it’s likely to remain so for the indefinite future, so the city needs to make the best of it.

A new contract with a new operator is not a panacea; even under the proposed agreement, the Coliseum is not going to be a financial bell-ringer for the city.  It has been a white elephant.  Whether this new contract will transform the facility into one less financially disastrous for the city, or whether it amounts to no more than painting the elephant a different color remains to be seen.  But the start is encouraging.

David Stanczak, a Forum commentator since 1995, came to Bloomington in 1971. He served as the City of Bloomington’s first full-time legal counsel for over 18 years, before entering private practice. He is currently employed by the Snyder Companies and continues to reside in Bloomington with his family.

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