Change leadership at city’s arena

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March 8, 2010

STAFF REPORT The Commercial-News Mon Mar 08, 2010, 08:03 PM CST

DANVILLE — Editor:

It’s time for David S. Palmer Arena management to leave, not hockey.

The arena started the year off being $100,000 in debt and director Peter Blackmon wants to get rid of the one thing that is making money?

Hockey is generating revenue. What else is? I grew up in Danville. There was always something going on at the arena. There were many concerts in a year, not just one or two. There were rodeos, There were Wiffle ball and volleyball leagues in the summer.

My son has played hockey for the past 10 years and each year we see less and less cooperation from the arena. We had a five-team tournament recently, which consisted of 95 kids and their parents. This would have been an excellent time for the center to make money from concessions, but they “forgot” about the tournament and didn’t have any concessions with the exception of the small stand that provided a small variety of drinks and candy.

More than 200 people for two days left the arena for food, while they could have stayed and bought food there if the concessions were open.

Look at the money the arena could have made on concessions alone.

Come on Danville, Mayor Eisenhower, arena board of directors — it’s time we do something together to help bring the arena back to life. The answer is obvious, and it surely isn’t taking hockey away. The Danville Inferno and the Danville Youth Hockey programs both generate revenue.

Get Mr. Blackmon out of there and get someone in who can manage the arena and make it a true community center again, one that generates revenue for the city.

Beth Maged

Danville

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