Members of the board of directors of the Finley Stadium Corporation have been filling in and dividing tasks related to running the facility since Paul Smith, past executive director, and his staff resigned at the end of February. Mr. Smith has been credited for the financial turn-around of Finley Stadium, which at one time had to be subsidized by the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
At the first meeting of the stadium board since Mr.
Smith left, Gordon Davenport, who took over the job as chairman of the board in November of 2016, said that the search for a new executive director has begun. He and Mike Davis, vice president, and board member Tim Kelly will collect and cull resumes and do initial interviews, he said. The job has been posted and some unsolicited resumes have been received. There is no timetable, but there is a sense of urgency to find a replacement, it was stated. The search time frame is whatever is needed to get the right person into the position, he said.
In the meantime, the accounting firm Johnson, Hickey and Murchison has been hired on an interim basis. Susan Cates with JHM will pay bills and carry on day-to-day business, said Ryan Crimmins, board treasurer. He said that the corporation is current on all bills and the checkbook is balanced. The focus, he said, has been to pay vendors, which has been done.
The first month since the change in management has been hectic, said Mr. Crimmins. The good news is that through February, there is an operating profit. The bad news, he said, is that amount is not what had been budgeted and it is down from a year ago, but “We’re still in the black.”
Expenses are up from last year. Contributing factors are that the payroll is higher because some part-time employees in 2016 are now on the payroll in full-time positions. The cost of utilities is also up because the stadium was used for some winter events and because he said Paul Smith had been religious in monitoring the thermostats, which was neglected once he left. The numbers should look better once the U.S. Soccer event that was held Feb. 2 is invoiced, and that should be done very soon, said Mr. Crimmins. “We’re poring over the financial statement to get a handle on it,” he said.
Hayley Church, previously the stadium’s events and hospitality manager, will work on a temporary, part-time basis. She will help Sara Hooper, who starts the job on April 11, as the catering manager. Ms. Hooper was co-founder of Dish-T-Pass. Ms. Church will also assist Amanda Lemming, the new events coordinator, during the transition.
Mike Davis and Tim Kelly will be responsible for working with and training Tim Gambrell, who has been hired as facilities and maintenance coordinator.
For now, the stadium has a full event calendar in May, said Mr. Davenport. Big events with the stadium’s partners will begin in May, with the Chattanooga Market opening the last weekend in April and Chattanooga FC’s first home game on May 20. There also is the possibility that another CFC game will be added prior to the 20th, said Mr. Kelly.
The entire stadium campus facility has been rented for the Coker Cruise-In car show that will take place April 1, with 5,000 people expected to attend. And the 4 Bridges Art Festival will be held at the First Tennessee Pavilion on Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23. The use of this facility is amazing, said Mr. Davenport. He added, “The use of this asset is non-stop.”