CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Charleston City Council has given the body that oversees the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center approval to enter an agreement regarding day-to-day activities.
OVG Facilities, which is based in Chester, Pennsylvania, will be responsible for overseeing schedules at the facility. The firm has similar agreements regarding events at the University of Kentucky’s Rupp Arena and the Moody Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
The deal will allow the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center/Municipal Auditorium Board to retain control over operating budgets, finances, vendor contracts and capital improvements.
Tim Brady, the CEO of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the city council Monday the firm will be instrumental in securing events after the coronavirus pandemic.
“The OVG relationship for us is critical because what it does is it gives us decades worth of experience and expertise, and places us in a network of facilities around the country that can cooperate, share business, share information,” he said.
“What this does is it pushes us to the next level and it gives us a leg up on other facilities around the country. We have a beautiful facility and we’re incredibly competitive, but we really need this help and we need the expertise of OVG.”
The agreement is for five years.
The city also announced Shura Garnett will serve as interim general manager of the facility starting Wednesday.