Rio Rancho City Manager James Jimenez hopes to have a contract finalized with Global Spectrum to run the Santa Ana Star center next month.

The city council gave Jimenez approval on Wednesday to enter contract negotiations and execute a contract with Global Spectrum. The vote was unanimous.

Global Spectrum is not affiliated with the center’s previous operator, Global Entertainment. The city has a memorandum of understanding with the Philadelphia-based company to operate the 6,500-seat, multi-purpose event center in Rio Rancho’s City Center, starting April 1.

“Global Spectrum is an international firm and managing these types of businesses is their core business,” Jimenez said. “They bring an impressive array of resources and have a full management team to make it successful, including substantial corporate support, including operations, marketing and human resources.”

Todd Glickman, Global Spectrum’s vice president of business development and client relations, is excited about his company managing the Star Center.

“We’ve been looking at this facility for many months now and believe we are uniquely qualified to be working with the City of Rio Rancho,” he said. “We are a marketing organization and that’s what we pride ourselves on. We will be very aggressive in terms of that.”

The Star Center has had its fair share of problems in the past attracting crowds and keeping fans happy. Glickman intends to change that. He also wants to attract not only Rio Ranchoans to the facility, but people from the entire metro Albuquerque area and state.

“What this building needs is a relaunching and an awakening,” he said. “It’s not really the city’s building, but the region’s building, and we plan on making it a very busy building. This building needs some TLC (tender loving care). That’s how we see it. We will grow the event load with a mixture of concerts, family shows and sporting events.”

Rick Hontz, general manager of the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colo., also operated by Global Spectrum, is pleased with the Star Center.

“The Budweiser Events Center is the crown jewel of Northern Colorado and we have the opportunity to sell this (Star Center) as the crown jewel of New Mexico,” he said. “There is more to this building than to the Budweiser Events Center. It has all the amenities.”

Hontz also said there’s a possibility of cross-promotions between the two arenas. For example, a concert might play in Loveland, and then travel down I-25 to Rio Rancho for a show.

The Events Center’s main tenant, the Colorado Eagles, who play in the Central Hockey League with the New Mexico Scorpions, draw a lot more people than the Scorpions to their games. The Eagles sell out every game with more than 5,000 tickets sold a game. Contrast that with the Scorpions, who averaged less than 3,000 a game this season.

To manage Santa Ana Star Center, Global Spectrum is bringing in Gunnar Fox, who previously managed the Encana Events Centre in Dawson Creek, B.C., Canada.

Jimenez is impressed with Fox.

“They (Global Spectrum) brought Gunnar Fox in for us to interview and he was their choice and we ascertain that it was a very good choice,” Jimenez said. “He’s a good match to our facility.”

The contract will include at a minimum a comprehensive agreement containing all normal provisions and safeguards for general management services of the SASC for at least five years, with options for extended periods at the City’s discretion; a provision for a fixed management fee with an incentive fee arrangement for good performance; a provision for a renegotiation of the fixed fee terms to be changed to a manager at-risk proposal if deemed beneficial by the parties after an appropriate due diligence period; a provision for free use of the Star Center for city events, subject to availability; and a provision for city approval of the proposed general manager.

Global Spectrum, a subsidiary of Comcast Spectacor, manages 32 arenas throughout the country and Canada, including the Budweiser Events Center at The Ranch in Loveland Colo., the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Ga., and the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia. The company also manages 25 convention and exhibition centers, including the Clovis, N.M., Civic Center. Global Spectrum also manages eight stadiums, five ice skating facilities, seven performing arts centers and theaters, two entertainment and retail districts, a winery and an equestrian center.

Six companies responded to the city’s request for proposal. Global Spectrum and VenuWorks were selected for finalist interviews.

Other bidders included Ticketmaster, RG Sports & Entertainment, VisionOne and Knight Facilities Management.

Jimenez said he and city staff were impressed with Global Spectrum, touting their customer service and attention to detail.

“First and foremost, event management is their primary business,” Jimenez said about Global Spectrum. “It’s what they do for a living. It’s not like other firms that have their fingers in different pots. It’s their primary business and they pay close attention to detail.”

Jimenez said visitors to the Santa Ana Star Center will notice a change from day one.

“Global Spectrum is very concerned about customer service,” Jimenez said. “They make sure the parking and the ticketing is smooth. They want to make sure the food service is high quality and the customer is treated well.”

As for the current employees at the Santa Ana Star Center, Jimenez said a condition of the contract with Global Spectrum is that “every employee gets the opportunity to interview with the company.”

Matthew Geisel, the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau manager, is the interim general manager for the Star Center. He was named to that position on Feb. 1 when the city took over the day-to-day management and operation of the center. Jimenez has been pleased with the work Geisel has done.

Geisel will continue to have a hand in the center, even after Global Spectrum starts managing the center. Geisel will be the city’s liaison with the firm.

The city terminated its contract with Global Entertainment in January because, according to city officials, Global continually failed to meet contractual obligations to generate enough revenue to fully pay annual debt service payments on the center.