Saturday Sitdown interview: Casey Wells, Erie County Convention Center Authority executive director

Sept. 27--Casey Wells is responsible for the professional and administrative direction and management of four facilities operated by the Erie Convention Center Authority: Erie Insurance Arena, Warner Theatre, Jerry Uht Park and the Bayfront Convention Center. He also serves as liaison to the Erie Bayfront Sheraton Hotel.

Wells recently took time out of his schedule to talk with the Erie Times-News about his career, the Erie market, the facilities he manages and more

Name: John "Casey" Wells

Age: 58

Family: Five children, five grandchildren

Lives in: Harborcreek Township

Profession: Executive director, Erie County Convention Center Authority

Originally from: Erie

Years in profession: 35

Education: Cathedral Preparatory School; Bachelor of Science degree from Pennsylvania State University

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Erie-County-Convention-Center-Authority/64418735748

Twitter: @ErieCCCA

Website: erieevents.com

Talk us through your career path.

I began working as the box office manager at the Erie County Field House for the county of Erie. From there, I progressed to the assistant general manager and then ultimately the general manager. When the field house closed in 1983, I moved to what was then Tullio Arena, working for the Erie Civic Center Authority as its operations manager for the arena. I worked there from 1983 until 1992 and then I was appointed director of the Erie Civic Center, which included the Warner Theatre at the time, as well. Then they actually changed the title in 2001 to executive director/managing director, but my job responsibilities didn't really change.

Why have you always stayed in Erie?

I've had a couple of interesting job opportunities that've come up during my career, involving some major market facilities, and have been asked if I'd be interested. I asked my wife what she thought about moving and she said to me, "Would we be any happier in another city?" and I said "I don't know if we could be any happier anywhere else," and she said "Then why would we leave?"

And it was for that reason that it never went any further. I'm content in Erie. There's been a succession of very exciting things that have happened here in my career. I opened the arena in 1983, opened the ballpark in '95, the Convention Center in 2007 and then the Sheraton in 2008, and we just redid the arena in 2013. Now we've purchased the GAF building and we're breaking ground for the hotel. It also challenges me, the diversity of events that we have. There was one specific instance I remember when we had a weeklong Jehovah's Witnesses convention in the arena and the day that they left, Ozzy Osbourne's tour bus pulled in the parking lot. It was a complete transformation in a matter of five hours -- everyone was running around. Every day is interesting here.

What's your favorite part of the job?

The diversity. We produce over 700 events a year in our facility. To the event producers and promoters, their event is the most important event in the world, and we have to treat everyone like that. We do our best to treat them all the same and provide every bit of attention to detail and value that we can. I'd definitely have to say it's the diversity in events, plus the fact that there's just no down time.

What's your least favorite part of the job?

The most frustrating thing right now is not being able to get the Warner Theatre renovations done.

What's been your favorite project you've worked on during your career?

That's kind of like asking me which one of my children or grandchildren I like the best. Each facility is unique and special, especially to me. I think they've all made my career so exciting. I really can't choose one.

How do you decide which acts, shows or performers come to Erie?

I really don't. I have a long-term relationship -- we're talking more than three decades -- with a lot of people in the industry who provide talent. I talk to them every couple of weeks and ask what could be considered for Erie. I belong to a group to keep up with who is going on tour and to stay updated on the best practices and upgrading our booking procedures. I'm also part of the Venue Coalition, a group of arena managers from all over the country that talk about acts, how successful they've been, things like that. You've got a number of agents and you make a call once or twice a month just to see where they're at. I don't want to be a pest to them, but I want to keep Erie in the front of their minds as much as possible.

What do event producers, promoters and agents think of Erie?

Well, they love the new building (Erie Insurance Arena). It has been responsible for getting acts we hadn't gotten in the past. There's a concern about the market, though, that it's not as strong as others our size. They pay attention. They look at things like average income, poverty in the community. If a tour goes on the road for 60 or 80 dates, they're going to play where they have the chance to sell the most tickets. Erie is a very value-conscious, price-sensitive market. It's very important for us to be able to make the facility as affordable as possible, but when we give good rental deals and have to up ticket prices, it discourages people from coming. We continuously try to make the best deal that we can.

What's some of the best business advice you'd give?

Get involved early. Whether it's as an usher, a popcorn fellow, a ticket salesperson -- get your foot in the door. Get some practical experience. I started as a box office manager and I've got five facilities now. I know the entire business because I started out doing exactly that. I understand how ticketing works. I can make ice. I know all of the odds and ends. I started, essentially, in the trenches.

You always have got to keep moving forward. If you stand still, you're falling behind. You have to embrace change and try to make your organization or your job better.

Another saying I use frequently is "Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered." I use that in the industry because everyone wants to make the huge payday, but it really is done incrementally over time. Understand what's deserving and be happy with that and continue to move on. If you overreach and try to charge too much or try to get unfairly greedy, expect to be slaughtered. Get what you need time and time again, not necessarily what you want.

Tell us something many people don't know about you.

A lot of people assume that the most fulfilling part of my job is meeting the stars and acts that come in, but they're mistaken. The most fulfilling part of my job is walking across the bridge between the Convention Center and the Sheraton and seeing people standing there, looking out and saying, "I can't believe this is Erie." That makes me feel more fulfilled than anything, including meeting Elton John. That just is so heartening. That's what really stokes me up.

SARAH STEMEN can be reached at 870-1776 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/etnstemen. Send her your ideas for subjects or topics for future Saturday Sitdowns.

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