Business View Magazine l November 2022

163 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 11 MACON CENTREPLEX COL I SEUM AND C I TY AUDI TOR IUM Gary Wheat recounts, “We are coming up on 2023, which will be our Bicentennial here in Macon-Bibb County. For the Centennial in 1923, the auditorium was erected as a gift to the community. It is a historic venue where a lot of wonderful, legendary performers got their start, or in the case of Otis Redding, where his funeral was held. It is the same with the Coliseum. The design and the architecture are reflective of our Great Temple Mount, which sits in Ocmulgee National Historic Park just across the street and was the native homeland of the Muskogee Creek Nation so many years ago.” As for today, he relays, “Last year 120,000 people came from over 50 miles away just to attend an event at one of those facilities. That speaks to the tourism aspect of what these venues generate for our community.” Owned by Macon-Bibb County, the Centreplex is managed by full-service event management group OVG360, who took over the contract in July of 2016. “So, the county basically hires us to manage and run the assets,” says Macon Centreplex General Manager David Aiello. “We try to minimize expenses while increasing revenues. Before we got here, the Centreplex was losing anywhere from $1.7 to $2.1 million annually, which is a large burden on the taxpayers, and primarily the reason why they brought us in.” Reporting that the Centreplex has seen annual deficits of as little as $600,000 since 2016, he adds, “We’ve been able to shave anywhere from $1.1 to $1.5 million, which obviously the county can put back into the roads, making sure that police and fire are paid properly.” Part of the effort to increase revenue for Macon Centreplex includes attracting more patrons through higher quality events and thinking outside the box when it comes to bookings.