Finances improve at Fort Smith Convention Center

BusinessFort SmithNews on the Wire

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) May 22, 2012 9:09 pm 91 views 

The Fort Smith Advertising and Promotion Commission (A&P) voted unanimously to reinstate former member Ronnie Townsend on Tuesday (May 22), following Townsend’s resignation in June 2011.

Townsend tendered a letter of resignation to the A&P board after leaving his manager position of the Holiday Inn City Center last year. After recently taking a position as general manager of the MovieLounge, Townsend wrote to board members requesting that his application be accepted for the post, which has remained vacant since his departure.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, the A&P financials beat out 2011 in year-to-date revenues. The official tally of $240,781 showed an increase of around 22.3%. Expenses were also down compared to the first four months of last year, but still in excess of revenues at $378,636. Following April expenditures and transactions, the Convention Center Fund Balance was down to $402,307 from $469,841 in March.

The biggest revenue event for the Convention Center last month was the April 12 Luke Bryan concert, which brought in $11,422.

The concert was aided by the Western Arkansas Ballet production of Wizard of Oz on April 1 ($4,451); the Straight No Chaser show on April 10 ($3,916); the Tribal Promotions MMA event on April 30 ($3,740); and the Fort Smith Symphony History of Rock and Roll performance on April 21 ($3,390).

Comparative receipts for March were up to $68,930, compared to $61,881 in March 2011. Year-to-date, the total is at $183,381, up from $160,680 through the first quarter of 2011. Estimated delinquent payments are also way down to $340 from $2,974 around the same period last year.

While the Convention Center still runs to red on the ledger, the Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is doing much better, showing a surplus of $1,985, which is especially noteworthy since it shows the CVB is operating above budgeted revenue expectations and below expectations on expenses.

Year-to-date revenues for the CVB are $183,381 compared to $181,396 on the expense side. The total A&P Fund Balance rests at $112,235.