Business View Magazine l November 2022

165 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 11 and go items to complement what is known in the industry as the “belly up” fare of pretzels, beer, and popcorn. Aiello explains, “We are going to have something similar to what you have in airports and some of the larger cities, where you can walk up, go up to the cooler, and grab what you want. There will be an attendant there that can scan you out, which will make lines better.” With a plan to have these improvements completed by December of 2023, he shares that the goal is to have the upgrades complete before the 100-year birthday of the Auditorium, and the bicentennial celebrations of Macon-Bibb County. On the Coliseum side, the venue has a new ice floor, which over time will save the facility money. Aiello recounts, “That, in essence, is digging up the cement slab that you typically see for concerts. We dug that up, replaced all the pipes, and the piping that goes to the mechanical room where the HVAC system and the ice plant is, which is also all new. We got all new chillers and all new air handler units, which will allow us to really control the airflow in certain areas of the venue. In the past it has really been all on or all off, which obviously from a utility standpoint, isn’t very financially stable.” New color-changing arena lights, a video scoreboard, dasher boards, and a new Zamboni were also part of the necessary investment into the 54-year-old coliseum. He asserts, “One of the reasons we were brought in was because prior to us getting here the buildings weren’t maintained, everything just had band aids put on it to make sure it got through a weekend or an event, and everything was failing. In order to stay open, we had to fix those elements.” The marketing of Macon Centreplex takes several approaches, starting with a budget to use mass media to showcase events and shows in order to sell tickets. On the internal side, the facility also has a budget to promote the Centreplex for private events such as weddings and galas, while also promoting experience and past success. “We are always putting together sheets for agents MACON CENTREPLEX COL I SEUM AND C I TY AUDI TOR IUM