Kansas Coliseum Turbulence

While Sedgwick County commissioners approved a management deal with SMG for the Kansas Coliseum complex and a new nearby 15,000-capacity Wichita Arena just a few weeks ago, the vote’s aftereffects are already becoming apparent to some county employees.

Kansas Coliseum director John Nath has been placed on administrative leave, a Coliseum representative told Pollstar.

The decision to approve the deal with SMG will end years of county management at the Coliseum, which reportedly became a source of friction between Nath and the commission. Coliseum staff members submitted their own bid alongside SMG in January.

Assistant county manager Ron Holt told the Wichita Eagle that Nath’s leave did not result from misconduct and gives him until September 28th to consider whether he’ll stay on board for the move from public to private arena management.

County officials have generally praised Nath’s direction of the venue, the Eagle reported, and his ability to bring top-tier acts to the Coliseum complex’s aging 10,000-capacity Britt Brown arena.

Holt said Coliseum employees "will be provided an opportunity to become employed by SMG and then once SMG assumes management responsibility … all remaining employees at the Coliseum will become SMG employees," according to minutes from an August 1st commission meeting.

SMG will begin managing the Coliseum in January of 2009, the minutes said, while providing pre-opening services during the construction of the new arena. The company’s term is expected to extend through the end of 2014, following the venue’s scheduled October 2009 opening.

It is unclear what will become of the complex once the new arena opens. Britt Brown arena currently hosts the Wichita Thunder hockey team and Wichita Wild indoor football team, but commissioners previously floated the idea of putting a casino on the site. The Coliseum’s pavilions are currently used for rodeos, equestrian and livestock events.

Upcoming Kansas Coliseum shows on the books include Gary Allen, Larry The Cable Guy, Dierks Bentley and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.