Company that manages The Arena to leave Oct. 9, City Manager says

The Philadelphia-based firm that manages Corbin’s 5,000-seat arena will officially vacate the facility in mid-October as city leaders say they have reached an agreement with the company that paves the way for new management.

According to Corbin City Manager Bill Ed Cannon, SMG Worldwide Entertainment and Event Venue Management will officially leave The Southeast Kentucky Agriculture and Exposition Center Oct. 9. According to an agenda for a special meeting of the Corbin City Commission scheduled for Thursday, city leaders plan to authorize Mayor Willard McBurney to sign an "exit" letter finalizing plans for SMG’s early departure. The Arena is owned by the city of Corbin. The city and SMG had a contract that would have allowed SMG to manage the facility for the remainder of the year.

"Our attorneys have been working on it for awhile and Oct. 9 is basically the day everyone came to a consensus on," Cannon said Tuesday. "There’s some events scheduled up there for September and October and we felt like they needed to stay on to get us through those."

According to The Arena schedule, country star Jason Aldean will play at the facility Sept. 10. On Oct. 1, the "Make a Difference Tour," feature bestselling Christian author Max Lucado and popular Christian musical artists Third Day, Toby Mac and Michael W. Smith, will perform at The Arena. A free men’s prayer conference, sponsored by Solid Rock Missionary Baptist Church, will be held Oct. 9.

Cannon said SMG has already taken some measures to reduce costs in advance of the company’s departure by laying off employees. Arena Manager Cliff Clinger will leave Sept. 3. Officials with the East Kentucky Exposition Center, also an SMG managed facility located in Pikeville, will fill in the gaps and run The Arena until Oct. 9.

The City Commission voted to end its relationship with SMG earlier this year, citing a paucity of events at the facility as the reason. SMG had a year-to-year contract with the city that required six months advance notice if either side planned not to renew. The company managed The Arena since before it opened in March of last year. The city has been accepting applications for an arena manager, and extended the hiring process after receiving only three applicants. Cannon said he has not yet re-advertised for the position, but said previously he plans to expand the search and will post the position in trade magazines in an attempt to reach more professionals in the venue management industry. He added he hopes to run advertisements by sometime next week.

City leaders have expressed a desire to dispense with the practice of hiring a firm to manage the facility, and instead want to make it an arm of city government that the new manger would oversee.

Cannon said SMG has notified promoters, and others, it has been working with in the past year that they must now contact the city for booking information regarding The Arena. The company is no longer actively seeking to schedule events at the facility.

"I’ve gotten various emails from people and I’ve just basically told them that we are in a transition period right now and that we will contact them after that transition," Cannon said.

Disney On Ice, the Kentucky Sportsman’s Show, Monster Truck Nationals, TNA Wrestling and the Kentucky Reptile Expo have all contacted the city interested in holding events at The Arena, Cannon said.