Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Lack of hands-on management hurt Global operation in Hidalgo

Over the last couple of days, The Turner Report has been examining some of the past dealings of Global Entertainment, the company that wants the city of Joplin to put up more than $40 million to build a hockey arena.
The involvement of Global in a number of lawsuits over the past few months, including one in which he city of Hidalgo, Texas, is a co-defendant, is worrisome. But that wrongful death lawsuit, chroncicled yesterday in The Turner Report, is not the only problem Global has had with its operation in Hicalgo, according to an article in the McAllen Monitor.
The company Global selected to handle the day-to-day operation in Hidalgo, Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum LP, ran into major problems operating the 5,500 seat arena, the article indicated.
City officials were upset with Global Spectrum (which apparently is not a part of Global Entertainment) for the way the company dealt with customers and with its accounting practices, according to the article.
Correspondence between city officials and Global Entertainment CEO Rick Kozuback indicated a concern about the Global Spectrum's "lack of professionalism," "apparent lack of pride in the building," and "lack of commitment to improving the level of cleanliness within he venue," the article said.
The letters also slammed the company for its service, food pricing, and slipshod accounting practices, which included having deposit slips did not reconcile with funds deposited, according to the article.
The biggest concern was "lack of security after performances," which led to "various problems with theft," the article said.
The papers, which dated back to 2003, were obtained as part of the court record in a lawsuit brought by Global Spectrum against Global Entertainment and International Coliseums Co. for breach of contract. The case was settled in the spring of 2005, the article indicated.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Daily finally tackled the lawsuits in Thursday's Web edition. When will the Globe pose these questions? The world wonders.