The Roanoke Times | File 2010

"Walking with Dinosaurs" was one of the recent highlights of the Roanoke Civic Center's offerings, drawing some 21,000 people.

Global Spectrum's first full year managing the Roanoke Civic Center on behalf of the city was marked by at least two big successes, a few losers and a continuing push to eliminate the facility's taxpayer subsidy.

The Philadelphia-based private firm, which is affiliated with cable giant Comcast-Spectacor, still runs the civic center at an operating deficit -- a problem that plagued the city when it managed the facility and helped persuade the council to privatize management there.

It reduced that deficit from about $1.2 million in fiscal 2009 -- when the city ran the civic center the first six months before Global Spectrum took over in January -- to about $773,000 in fiscal '10, General Manager Chris Connolly told the city council Tuesday. Those figures don't include a roughly $1 million subsidy to cover debt service on the special events center.

Connolly said that a sour economy and winter storms did take a hit on the facility's income. The Kazim Shrine Circus and Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam usually draw big crowds, but a late January storm knocked attendance down quite a bit. Connolly estimates the center lost $120,000 in revenue from those two shows.

Likewise, a country music show with Martina McBride and Trace Adkins pulled fewer fans than organizers had hoped.

"That show lost a little bit of money, which is almost unheard of in a strong country market," Connolly said. "It hit in the spring, so maybe it was a tough time, but I think it was economy-driven."

There have been a few big successes, too. "Walking With Dinosaurs" drew 21,000 people over three days, said Robyn Schon, acting director of civic facilities.

" 'Walking with Dinosaurs' is probably the biggest show in my 25-year career," Schon said. "There wasn't a bad thing about that show at all. We got written up in national trade publications that put the spotlight back on Roanoke. Now people are talking about Roanoke. I don't have to explain where it is."

The civic center also drew well for the Harlem Globetrotters, and a pair of trade shows -- the Greater Roanoke Home & Garden Show and the Blue Ridge Bike Fest -- did well enough that they've been invited back.

The council hired Global Spectrum to run the civic center in late 2008 as part of a five-year deal that pays the company about $26,000 a month, with incentives for increased revenue. In hiring the company, the council effectively privatized a facility that had fallen on hard times. It had canceled three high-profile shows in early 2007 because of poor ticket sales, while several others carried on despite selling far fewer tickets that expected.

The civic center consistently ran operating subsidies of between $600,000 and $1 million, but that number swelled even further when factoring in debt service on the $14 million special events center, which was built a few years ago.

Global Spectrum's goal is to eliminate that subsidy over the next four years. It has already made a number of changes to try to reach that goal.

It brought in one of its sister companies under the Comcast umbrella to assist with ticketing services. It has sought out companies like HomeTown Bank and Cox Communications to more than double its revenue from sponsorships. Global Spectrum had even talked about selling naming rights to the civic center, but Connolly said that doesn't appear close to happening right now.

More changes: The Roanoke Civic Center concessions just switched from Pepsi to Coke after sending out a request for proposals. It also hired a new group to manage parking, which Connolly said has helped.

Connolly said the biggest key to eliminating the subsidy, however, will be booking events that will draw people and sell tickets.

Council members, at least, seemed enthusiastic about upcoming shows on the civic center's schedule: Anita Price was excited about "Madea's Big Happy Family," a play by Tyler Perry. Bill Bestpitch said he eagerly awaits the new "Broadway in Roanoke" season. Court Rosen mentioned the upcoming Carrie Underwood show.

And Mayor David Bowers was ready for the Liza Minnelli show this weekend, producing a pair of 1973 photos that show him interviewing the singer when he was still a college student.