Eleven months into his tenure as general manager of the Roanoke Civic Center, Chris Connelly has made do with the money he has had on hand in the cash-strapped city – but the changes he’s made with a staff now employed by Global Spectrum have sure spruced the place up a bit.
The 34-year-old GM showed off the recent improvements at the Civic Center complex during a media day event last week. For starters the ticket office façade now features cherry-stained wood instead of cinder block, as well as freshly painted sheetrock. Pictures of artists that have recently performed there now decorate the box office interior.
There are also more ATM’s on the concourse and concession stands now take credit and debit cards. Assistant general manager Robyn Schon calls Connelly “a breath of fresh air” for his approach to changes at the Civic Center.
Connelly came to the area after stints with Global Spectrum at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and in London, Ontario. “I love Roanoke… I really do,” said Connelly on media day, when the in-house catering company Ovations showed off what they can do as well. Head chef Chris Eanes recently won a catering cook-off in Roanoke.
Flat screen LED televisions around the coliseum concourse run promotional footage of upcoming events and sponsor ads, and a new permanent, brightly-colored merchandise area called Kaleidoscope occupies space once filled with offices. There’s also a new “green room” for artists that are looking to cool their heels before the show and exercise equipment for those stars that don’t want to go to a local gym.
“We’re not a must play market,” noted Connelly – meaning Roanoke must try harder to attract performing artists sometimes. He promised more variety, like the Broadway series early in 2010. “We’ve got a lot of good stuff coming up.”
Over at the Performing Arts Theatre the sound system has been improved and minor tweaks have made the Special Events Center trade show hall a better experience. “We feel like we’re making great strides,” said Connelly, who also pointed out that the Civic Center is “getting the [big] events,” like the Jeff Dunham comedy show that recently filled the coliseum.
Connelly would like to see another full time sports tenant, which makes it easier to fill the calendar. The die-hard Philadelphia Flyers fan would like to see minor league hockey return, and after several recent failures (Express, Vipers) he figures “we have one more shot at this thing.”
After observing that “we still have a lot of things to do on our list,” Connelly said he was optimistic: “we’re hoping that [people] see a difference.”
By Gene Marrano [email protected]