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John Risio
USA Niagara Development Corporation
284-2556
Katie Krawczyk
Empire State Development
856-8111
9/24/2008
USA NIAGARA ANNOUNCES $7.9 MILLION OLD FALLS STREET – WEST MALL INITIATIVE FUNDING AGREEMENT
Board of Directors Reaffirm Acquisition of Former Wintergarden, Select Global Spectrum as New Manager of Conference Center Niagara Falls
USA Niagara Development Corporation (USAN) today announced approval of the $7.9 million Old Falls Street – West Mall Initiative Funding Agreement and the reaffirmation of the acquisition of the former Wintergarden at today’s USAN Board of Directors meeting. Additionally, the USAN Board selected Global Spectrum, LP, as the next manager of the Conference Center Niagara Falls.
USAN President Christopher Schoepflin said, “On behalf of the USAN Board of Directors, I am very pleased with the progress we made today. The West Mall Project will play a very strong role in enticing private investors and generating additional development opportunities on Old Falls Street.”
City of Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster commented, “I would like to thank the USAN Board for their support on these important initiatives. I look forward to working with USAN on these projects, which will help our downtown economic development efforts and create an enhanced environment for our visitors and residents.”
Shortly following the completion of the $3 million Old Falls Street – East Mall Reconstruction Project between Third and First streets in August 2007, the Old Falls Street – West Mall Initiative was announced as part of New York State’s “City by City” economic development plan for Upstate New York. As part of this new initiative, USAN and the City of Niagara Falls developed a Funding Agreement, in which USAN will direct over $4.8 million to support a major component of the Initiative – the full-depth reconstruction of the West Mall portion of Old Falls Street, from First Street to Prospect Street at the location of the historic 1885 entrance to Niagara Falls State Park. The City of Niagara Falls will be responsible for project construction and administration and is expected to take action on the Funding Agreement in the immediate future.
The initiative is intended to help recapture Falls Street as the economic center of the downtown tourist area, restoring this corridor to the downtown street grid and providing significant opportunities for new street-level retail activities on adjoining parcels. Old Falls Street already sits between approximately $54 million in new downtown investment. Design elements of the Project include:
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the re-introduction of off-peak/off-season vehicular access, with one lane in each direction;.
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a cobblestone finish road to encourage lower speeds with two wider “plaza” areas to accommodate drop-off/pick-up and short-term parking;
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a full streetscape program including new sidewalks/pedestrian areas and crosswalks, street furniture (benches, trash receptacles, bicycle racks, etc.);.
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rehabilitated period lighting supplemented with new lighting in key areas; and
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a full landscape program.
Additionally the USAN Board also reaffirmed a previous board action from the board meeting held on July 31, 2008 – the authorization to enter into a purchase agreement for the acquisition of the former Wintergarden and the East Mall License Agreement. This action was necessary, as comments made during an August 18th public hearing were required to be taken into consideration for the final agreement.
The acquisition of the former Wintergarden from Wintergarden Development Group, LLC, will allow for its future razing and re-establishment of the Old Falls Street public right-of-way between First Street and Rainbow Boulevard. This action, together with the Old Falls Street – East Mall and West Mall Initiatives, will restore the historic right-of-way of Old Falls Street and the historic visual corridor between Niagara Falls State Park and Third Street.
Further, the acquisition of the East Mall License Agreement from East Mall Entertainment, LLC is intended to allow for better coordination of event and maintenance responsibilities, and will ultimately enhance the visitor experience along the entire Old Falls Street corridor. Upon acquisition, USAN will dissolve the license agreement. USAN will acquire both the former Wintergarden and the East Mall License Agreement for $1.6 million, subject to all purchase agreement contingencies being satisfied.
In a third action, the USAN Board approved Global Spectrum, a national leader in managing public assembly facilities, as the preferred manager of the USAN owned and developed Conference Center Niagara Falls (CCNF). Global Spectrum, based in Philadelphia, PA, is a subsidiary of internationally recognized sports and entertainment leader Comcast-Spectacor.
“Global Spectrum is a well-respected industry leader and we believe they are the perfect group to help us enhance customer experience, increase bookings and make the Conference Center in Niagara Falls a must-visit exhibition and convention center for the Region,” said Christopher Schoepflin.
“We are very much looking forward to working with USAN Board in providing our high level of customer service and marketing ability to maximize opportunities for the Conference Center, as well as the community,” said Global Spectrum Chief Operating Officer John Page. “We believe the Conference Center is the perfect destination for meeting planners and exhibitors and we will work with many of our industry contacts to bring their events to the Conference Center.”
With current management services scheduled to end on December 31, 2008, advertisements for a Request for Proposals for a CCNF manager were placed by USAN. After a competitive evaluation process, a selection committee comprised of representatives from USAN, Empire State Development, the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation and the City of Niagara Falls, unanimously selected Global Spectrum as their choice for the preferred manager.
Global Spectrum is the fastest growing public assembly facility management company in the world with more than 70 facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Comcast-Spectacor holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League; the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association; Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, a regional sports programming network; Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage services provider; New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing product for public assembly facilities; Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company; and 3601 Creative Group, a full-service in-house advertising agency.
Global Spectrum manages the highly successful Wachovia Complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and also a number of facilities in markets comparable in nature to the CCNF including: the St. Charles Convention Center (Missouri), the Pueblo Convention Center (Colorado), the Edward Hansen Conference Center (Washington), the Clovis Civic Center (New Mexico), and the Overland Park Convention Center (Kansas). The selection committee obtained references from both clients and tourism officials from the above areas, all of whom highly rated Global Spectrum’s services and performance. Many references cited Global’s experience, their excellent sales and revenue growth record, their vast network of marketing and supporting resources, the accessibility of their senior management and their positive community involvement, as the reasons why Global is their preferred manager.
USA Niagara Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Empire State Development Corporation, is solely dedicated to the support and promotion of economic development initiatives in Niagara Falls by leveraging private investment and encouraging growth and renewal of the tourism industry in the City of Niagara Falls.
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