Gordon Davenport, on left, and Bryan Patten
photo by Gail Perry
The new chairman of the Finley Stadium Board of Directors, Gordon Davenport, reported on the positive current state of the stadium and its future at the board of directors meeting Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve taken measurable steps and are growing up as an organization,” he said.
His focus for the next five years will be to build upon what has already been accomplished and to grow partnerships and continue to be successful in operating events. That, he said, creates a full circle, by continuing to attract larger events, to grow revenue and put funds back into capital improvements for the stadium.
Executive Director Paul Smith agreed and said the growth has been tremendous and is continuing. He said now the stadium is realizing the value of investments that have been made in the past. All assets of the facility are being utilized, such as renting space in the parking lots used by week-day parking for downtown construction workers. In the past three months, the number of parking passes sold ranged from 30-50.
The payroll is higher than in the past, said Mr. Smith in the financial report, because with the increased use of the facilities on the stadium campus, additional employees have been hired on a contract basis, but Finley Stadium is still on target to reach its net income operating figure this year.
UTC football went well in 2016, he said, as did the partnership with the CFC soccer association. The CFC contract has been profitable in the past, largely because of the revenue generated by parking and concessions. Until this year the stadium has paid some expenses that were incurred by CFC’s use of the stadium. That had a negative impact on profits from the actual contract price. The CFC will pay all of their expenses under the new contract, and the stadium will reduce its share of the revenue from parking and concessions. Both the executive director and Tim Kelly, CFC co-founder and board member of both Finley Stadium and CFC, said the new contract is more fair and equitable for both parties.
Two major soccer events in February will take place at Finley Stadium during a time that it is traditionally under-utilized. The U.S. Men’s National Team is scheduled to play Jamaica on Feb. 3. That game will be nationally televised with every seat in the press box already being filled.
On Saturday, Feb. 11, the new, Atlanta Unlimited soccer club will play its first game - against the CFC at Finley Stadium. That game is expected to draw a large crowd.
Mr. Smith said there is also a full schedule planned for March with four events taking place including a marathon, a car show, the Chattanooga Pow Wow and Native American Heritage Festival and a cruise-in sponsored by Coker Tire.
The events that will take place in February and March will effectively “kill winter for us,” said Mr. Smith.
Officers for the Stadium Board of Directors were elected at the Tuesday meeting. Mike Davis will serve as vice president and will be at the front and center of improvements and maintenance of the facility. Ryan Crimmins was elected as treasurer and Bryan Patten will continue his role as secretary.