General manager named for new Moncton Downtown Event Centre

Moncton's new 8,500-seat Downtown Event Centre is not expected to open for another year but it now has a general manager.

In the coming months, Nick DeLuco said he'll look after everything from event planningto parkingand naming rightsto get the$104 million sports and entertainment complexready for its opening in September 2018.

One of his first tasks includes creatinga transportationplan for visitors, as the centre offers no additional parking spots a point of some contention forMoncton residents.

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"It's on us to make sure we get that information out to the people of Moncton," he said. "It's a learning process for sure but it's something we all face when it comes to downtown centres."

Great downtown opportunity

DeLuco is moving to Moncton from Kingston, Ontario, where he worked as the assistant general manager for the Rogers K-Rock Centre. That centre is slightly smallerbut otherwise similar to Moncton's new complex, he said. Both venuesare managed by the samecompany, SMG Canada.

Kingston's centrehas just under 6,000 seats, said DeLuco, but is also located in the downtown core and the parking isdispersed. But since the centre opened almost 10 years ago, the city benefited greatly from the venue the difference is like "night and day," he said.

"People in restaurants, people shopping, you can't go to a hockey game on a Friday night or get into a restaurant two hours before any event, it's booked solid," he said. "The opportunity it's given to downtown businesses is amazing."

Naming rights

DeLuco said he'll also spend his first months organizing a lease for the Moncton Wildcats and looking after the naming rights for the centre. While he could not say how high the bidding will go, he said there are a few parties involved.

"We've done evaluations and we have an understanding of what it's worth," he said.

DeLuco also expects to be hiring staff after the new year 10 to 15 full-time, and about 300 part-time staff to look after everything from event to food and beverages services.

He looks forward to the challenge of managing the centre, he said.

"I think this building has great potential and I look forward to exploringthat further," he said. "I think I have a good wealth of experience in most areas so I should be able to help out as much as I can for sure."