NEWS/TALK 101.5 FM and WNWS.COM visited with Tosh Newman, facilities manager at the Carl Perkins Civic Center and Oman Arena for a Question and Answer session.

Question: First, if you would, tell us a little about yourself. Hometown, education, family and when did you start managing the Carl Perkins Civic Center and Oman Arena?

Answer: I grew up in Beech Bluff right outside of Jackson and graduated from Jackson Central-Merry in 2000. I received a theater and a soccer scholarship to Union University, but I was hired to play drums for a Nashville recording artist right as my freshmen year began.

Needless to say, I took that opportunity, but I returned to school and finished my degree at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

I am married to my wonderful wife Leslie, and we have two very energetic boys; Ford 5, and Rhett 3.

I have been working for the City of Jackson for 18 years, and I began managing the Carl Perkins Civic Center and Oman Arena on January 25 of this year.

Question: Tell us about the renovations you have underway at the Civic Center, the cost and what it will save.

Answer: We are currently making some renovations to both locations, but the biggest one we have going is the replacement of 922 seats at the Civic Center and the mechanical understructure on our telescopic risers.

The risers were purchased in 2004, and they have a lot of wear and tear from being moved in and out over the years.

The cost is roughly $423,000 for the repairs, and according to the company making the repairs, this will give us another 10-to-15 years of use out of the risers we currently have.

New risers would cost over $1.2 million.

With the mechanics working like they should, our staff will be able cut up to three hours off the setup time.

When we have back to back events, where one is banquet tables and chairs, and the other uses risers, the staff comes in late that night to remove the tables and chairs, clean the floors and get the risers put in for the next day.

They are excited to see just how much time this saves, especially on those quick turn arounds.

We should also be able to put them in with fewer staff. Currently, it takes eight-to-10 hours, and up to four staff members to set up the risers. The risers will go in and out 56 times this year.

Question: How many events were held at the Civic Center in 2017, and how many events are on the 2018 calendar?

Answer: In 2017, the Civic Center hosted 110 events and so far this year, 95 are on the calendar.

Question: What is the rent on the Civic Center?

Answer: The facility rents for $1,600. This does not include any equipment such as tables, chairs, pipe and drape, the risers, etcetera.

Question: Are the facilities profitable, or do the number of out of town visitors figure in (hotels, meals, gasoline)

Answer: It’s tough for me to say if the facility is profitable or not, as I have only been here four months and have not had enough time to compare revenue and expense. We are constantly working to improve the energy efficiency in all City facilities but especially the higher square footage buildings like the Civic Center and Oman Arena.

We have already swapped all of the front office lighting to LED and have been approved to change out the concourse/restroom lighting in Oman Arena.

In the future, I hope to add high bay LED fixtures to the Oman and eliminate the current metal halide and mercury vapor bulbs used to light the arena.

I would also like to look into solar panels for both facilities.

Question: What is the capacity for the Carl Perkins Civic Center and Oman Arena?

Answer: With the risers on the performance level, the Civic Center seats 1,893 patrons. With the risers out, standing room on the auditorium floor can hold 2,100 patrons.

Oman Arena seats 5,601 patrons.

Question: What is the most difficult part of your job?

Answer: The most difficult part of my job is trying to make sure that the Civic Center and Oman Arena are both presented in a positive light.

Both buildings have been around since the 70’s and they are slightly outdated.

We are attempting to make renovations to both buildings to bring them into the 21st Century – both aesthetically and technologically.

I want to thank Mayor Gist and the staff at the Civic Center and Oman Arena for helping make this a smooth transition for me.

They are truly the backbone of our facilities, and we look forward even more to seeing these renovations come to fruition.

We hope Mr. Carl Perkins would have been proud of the progress we’re making.

(PHOTO: Tosh Newman is the facilities manager at the Carl Perkins Civic Center and Oman Arena)

David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomasWNWS
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