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Intrust Bank Arena: No money for county this year

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Published: 2/08 4:36 pm

Updated: 2/08 4:41 pm

WICHITA, Kansas -- From Tim McGraw's country twang to the Wichita State Shockers pounding the court, the Intrust Bank Arena hosted an array of entertainment in 2011. It packed its doors with visitors for 99 separate performances.

That, however, wasn't enough to make a profit for Sedgwick County.

County commissioners learned the numbers on Wednesday.

"The numbers are in the black, it's not as well as SMG would've liked, not as well as we would've liked, and we're looking forward to next year," said Bill Buchanan, Sedgwick County Manager.

Buchanan says the "honeymoon period" is over.

The arena took in $389,659 in profit in 2011, compared to $2,000,000 in 2010.

According to the contract established with the county, SMG, the company that manages the arena, will keep all of it.

SMG gets the first $450,000 and the county gets the next $450,000.

"We've come down a bit in 12 we expect to go back up this year. I think it'll be somewhere in between a good solid number," said A.J. Boleski, owner of Intrust Bank Arena.

Something SMG says should be easy because of its solid 2012 concert lineup, including Tom Petty in April and Nickelback in June.

They also plan on appealing to more sports fans.

"Every year we're going to be focused on building more momentum as far as college sports," said Boleski.

Hoping more events like Wichita State will bring a solid profit in years to come. For more information on events, head to http://www.intrustbankarena.com/.

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51gopher - 2/9/2012 7:53 PM

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Well jayhawk I think that many would disagree about the seating. From what comments people have told me I would say the number so far is the seating. Too small of seats, too close together not only in width, but also in kneeroom. Nobody is going to be thrilled if they pay good money to go to an event and be in poor seating.

jayhawk54 - 2/9/2012 9:21 AM

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If you compare some of the acts that the Sprint Center in KC, BOK in Tulsa and Chesapeake in OKC booked, Wichita really missed out. My question is why? Is it routing and Wichita is right in the middle of those arenas so they are in the middle of a non-compete circumference? Is it whoever is booking talent? Or is it money? Are these acts too pricey for Wichita? I hope not. I think the Wichita area would support quality, big name acts of all genres if offered by the Arena. Compare the events of the last couple of years in those 3 other venues-OKC, KC, and Tulsa-and see how Wichita stacks up. Not as well in my opinion. FYI, Hunaliton, we tried several different ways out of the Coliseum. They were all equally as bad. Maybe the events we attended had more traffic than some of the others, I don't know. I just didn't enjoy sitting the parking lots forever and ever. I have a hard time believing that traffic would keep people away. I agree that the seating could be better spaced but I don't feel that is a detriment to whether I'm going to attend an event that I really want to go to. I would much rather stay closer to home than drive to Oklahoma or Missouri.

vietnamvet - 2/8/2012 11:30 PM

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It's very simple. You always have a a large turnout the first year. People want to see what they paid for. Now that they have, many won't be back. Things like poor parking and seating, rude staff, and long lines, tend to cause people to think twice about attending events at the arena. These are the common complaints I've heard from close friends and family. I can see it now, a supplemental tax in Wichita to help support the arena.

thrstonlovi - 2/8/2012 9:06 PM

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Should anyone be surprised that the arena is already struggling and the county is already not receiving any profits from the arena's operation? The voters wanted a new arena, and we got one. Mark my words, the minute SMG starts to lose money on the arena, they will back out of their contract with the county and the taxpayers will be stuck with the losses. What a waste of taxpayer money.

51gopher - 2/8/2012 7:51 PM

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Sorry jayhawk, but Hunaliton is pretty much right. There was a lot of traffic because a lot of people went to the coliseum, but there were several easy ways to exit. However downtown is pretty much a joke. So far I have yet to talk to anybody that is pleased with the cramped seating in the Intrust Arena. If you were going to build and start from scratch like we did you needed to make sure that you made it so people wanted to come back. That means reasonable parking and more importantly reasonable seating and not crammed into place. From the beginning the warning was that the first few years would be OK because groups know that people will come to a new arena because it is something new. After they go if they don't enjoy it then they start staying away. They blame the economy for this downturn, but really are they trying to make believe that the year before was all peaches and cream economy?

Hunaliton - 2/8/2012 7:38 PM

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And you think waiting in long lines to catch a bus from lawernce dumont or parking near Kellogg and having to walk thru down town is better? Give me a break ! PA-LEASE! Of course there was traffic because there were LOTS OF PEOPLE THERE.Why didnt you find another way to go? I did. Even if you head south on Hydraulic and go thru Park City then catch 135 or go all the way to Broadway and head home that way. Again, THAT'S simple math. If you have a problem, figure out a way to solve it. Unfortunately the Donkeys in charge of this outfit cant seem to do that. They CANT book shows is the reason THERE AREN'T ANY....but like you said, it simple math....Thanks for clearing that up and I like your term. Name 1 other business who drops that much profit in a years time and is still around. Maybe they exist but I dont know of any. Not taking away from the quality of the arena, it is nice, but if it sits empty........its like having a corvette with no motor

jayhawk54 - 2/8/2012 7:01 PM

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Ok first of all, the traffic was a nightmare at the Coliseum so don't even go there. It is so much easier to get in and out of the Intrust Bank Arena area compared to the traffic jam trying to get off the exit, long waits to get out of the parking lot, and the disaster of trying to get back on the road going home that we became accustomed to when attending anything at the Coliseum. My family and I have attended many, many events at Intrust Bank Arena from concerts to ball games. We prefer the Arena but there are some issues. No one should be surprised that not more money was made this past year. The first year they had lots more events. This summer there was hardly anything to go to compared to the first summer: If a comparison of events calendar from year to year was done, you would see that the whole year seemed to be that way. Bring more events to the Arena and more people will come - simple math!

CitizenA - 2/8/2012 6:37 PM

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Now you take half of that idiotic effort you put into the worthless Arena and focus on job creation, streamlining for startup entrepreneurs, and figure out why no one wants to do business here. Oh, I know, it is because Wichita thinks businesses with less than 5000 employees are not important to the local economy. MARK MY WORDS, we will be supporting the Arena real soon. They will get shorter and shorter until they are in the red. Pathetic because most of Wichita knew it before it was built

Hunaliton - 2/8/2012 5:17 PM

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Hmmm Anyone suprised? Just like spoiled children...........see the newest and greates thing and thought you had to have one. Well, you got it! and it doesnt seem to be producing as you thought it would!!!! HUH!?! we bulit tp attract "bigger shows".....really?! I havent seen anything yet come thru here that didnt already perform @ the coliseum. Speaking of that, you had a perfectly capable establishement on its own land and PARKING LOT with no traffic jams and rarely any other traffic to deal with while exiting an event. Possibly a little outdated because it has been going STRONG since the early 70's. Sam Fulco is rolling in his grave because of the hands that these descisions are placd in. Granted he oversaw the building of it and was only the director for 30 years he still managed better than these "new Generation" owners who now have the best but do not know what to do with it. If I read it right......you profit dropped 1.7 million in 1 year? GO INTRUST! Well, you choose to put your embarrasment in the news so I'm happy to comment on it!!!!

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