Sheena McCrate departs as CEO of St. John's Sports and Entertainment

The longtime top executive at St. John's Sports and Entertainment is leaving the organization the latest in a series of tumultuous events over the past couple of months.

The departure of Sheena McCratefromthe city corporation was announced in a media release late Monday afternoon.

She began working with SJSE in 2007 and had been CEO for the past eight years.

In a statement, the board of SJSE and council thanked McCrate"for her dedication and tremendous contribution to the organization" and saidshe "is leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities."

The press release was issued shortly after the end of St. John's city council's regular public meeting.

The city said Mayor Danny Breen would not be doing interviews, calling it a "personnel matter."McCrate could not immediately be reached for comment.

SJSE runs the St. John's Convention Centre and Mary Brown's Centre.

The organization has been embroiled in anongoing controversy that has flared up in recent months, linked mainly to the Newfoundland Growlers, which plays its ECHL home games in the Mary Brown's Centre.

In October, the city suspended Growlers home games at the hockey arena, pending a probe into allegations of "disrespectful workplace conduct" by team ownership, the mayor said at the time.

The Growlers ended up playing their first six home games of the season in Conception Bay South.

Weeks later, more details emerged on past alleged workplace misconduct at the facility previously known as Mile One Centre.

A leaked report detailed complaints against Deacon Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Growlers, going back almost three years.

• Leaked report details years of complaints, 'psychological bullying' of Mile One staff

Deacon Sports and Entertainment owner Dean MacDonald called that report "one-sided."

"All the facts I read in the report can be refuted by emails and information we have," MacDonald told reporters in November.

The city, meanwhile, threatened to sue any media organization that reported on the leaked report, saying it would "consider all legal remedies."

Days later, SJSE and Deacon Sports and Entertainment announced an agreement for the return of the Newfoundland Growlers to the Mary Brown's Centre. The team played its first game of the season at the facility on Dec. 1.

While the Growlers were allowed back in, the "disrespectful workplace conduct" investigation remains ongoing.

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