In the fall of 2007, Eric Ryan Productions was approached by the City of Youngstown to operate the city-owned $48 million dollar 6,000 seat multi-purpose arena, the Covelli Centre (formerly the Chevrolet Centre). At that time the 3-year-old arena proved to be a major hindrance for the city with a yearly operating loss of over a half million dollars. In addition, the debt service on the building was costing the city over $1.2 million per year. The city hired Ryan’s company, now JAC Management Group, to take over management of the arena on an interim basis while they went through a RFP process soliciting major national management companies. JAC quickly caught the attention of city officials by booking major artists and events as well as slashing operating budgets and operational spending by efficiently operating the facility. The interim basis became permanent as of June 2008 when the city hired JAC as the permanent management company to oversee all operations.
