By Heart of Illinois ABC
BLOOMINGTON – A separation agreement between the City of Bloomington and the company managing the government-owned Grossinger Motors Arena is expected to be finalized Monday night when the city council plans to vote on the proposal.
However, the city might not be done paying VenuWorks if the state makes a faster-than-expected return to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic halted arena events.
The severance agreement calls for the city to pay VenuWorks five percent of net food and beverage commissions if large events are held at the arena between now and June 30 of next year, which is when the current contract was originally supposed to expire.
The city would have to pay VenuWorks $5,000 a month if another outside management firm is hired, although the city now plans to run the arena in-house.
VenuWorks has managed arena operations for four years, but the downtown arena lost money long before that. Executives of the previous management firm, Central Illinois Arena Management, are awaiting trial in McLean County Court on fraud charges for their handling of arena operations.
In a report to the council, city staffers projected the arena will lose $347,000 for the current fiscal year, but terminating the agreement with VenuWorks is expected to result in a net savings to the city.
The government has been paying VenuWorks $114.000 a year.
“Assuming all operations are frozen for the year, the amount of savings will be dependent on the extent of transition expenses versus utility expense savings from reduced operational use of the facility,” the staff report said.
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