Covelli Centre
 
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| Former names | Youngstown Convocation Center (planning/construction) Chevrolet Centre (2005–09) |
|---|---|
| Location | 229 East Front Street Youngstown, Ohio 44503 |
| Owner | City of Youngstown |
| Operator | SMG |
| Capacity |
Basketball: 5,900 Ice Hockey/Arena Football: 5,717 Concerts: 7,000 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | June 21, 2004 |
| Opened | October 19, 2005 |
| Construction cost |
$42 million ($51.5 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect | PBK Architects, Ltd. |
| Project manager | Frew Nations Group |
| Structural engineer | Cochrane Group, Inc. |
| Services engineer | Murray & Associates, Inc. |
| General contractor | Hunt/AP O'Horo |
| Tenants | |
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Youngstown SteelHounds (CHL) (2005–2008) Mahoning Valley Thunder (AF2) (2007–2009) Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) (2008–present) Little Steel Derby Girls (WFTDA) (2012-present) Youngstown Nighthawks (MASL) (2015) |
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The Covelli Centre is a multi-purpose arena in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It opened in 2005, thanks in a large part to a $26 million HUD redevelopment grant secured in 2000 by Congressman James A. Traficant, Jr. It is home to the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League. The Covelli Centre was previously known as the Chevrolet Centre and is nicknamed "The Chevy Centre" or "The Convo" by some in the area from its former names.
The arena's grand opening was on October 29, 2005, when it hosted a concert by 3 Doors Down. The first hockey game was played about a week later, on November 4.
In Fall 2007, the city hired Eric Ryan Productions of nearby Struthers, Ohio, to temporarily operate the arena until the city could find another company to manage the facility. SMG and Global Spectrum are the final two companies in the running to run the Chevrolet Centre. The Chevy Centre was formerly managed by the International Coliseums Company, a subsidiary of Global Entertainment, which owns the Central Hockey League. On Friday, April 4, 2008; the city of Youngstown signed a deal with Ticketmaster to become the official ticket provider of the Chevrolet Centre. The arena itself is owned by the city.
The arena, which was initially named the Convocation Center when it opened in October, was renamed a few weeks after its opening on Friday, November 18, 2005, when General Motors acquired the naming rights, and was renamed the Chevrolet Centre. Choosing Chevrolet for the naming rights was highly appropriate because one of the brand's more successful cars, the Cobalt, is manufactured in nearby Lordstown, Ohio.
On October 4, 2008, it was announced that GM had decided not to renew their naming rights deal with the city. The city was in the process of negotiating with local Chevy dealers to keep the name of the facility the same. [2] On Wednesday, April 30, 2009 Covelli Enterprises (a local franchise of Panera Bread and O'Charley's restaurants), signed a 3-year, $120,000 naming-rights deal, giving the Centre its current name (a complete signing switch is expected by June 1). [3]
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