
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 20, 1994                   TAG: 9409220055
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATOR STEPS IN AT CIVIC CENTER

The Roanoke Civic Center has hired a $9,500-per-month temporary administrator because the current manager is on medical leave and his longtime assistant is about to take a job elsewhere.

George Matson was introduced to the Civic Center Commission at its meeting Monday. Matson, 50, of Baltimore, will assume the day-to-day duties of Civic Center manager Bob Chapman.

Chapman, who has run the 10,000-seat arena for 18 years, was sidelined in June with back problems. He's tried at least twice to return to work but has found walking and sitting in chairs difficult.

Chapman has had back surgery five times in recent years, including this summer, said assistant manager Mark Collins.

"He doesn't know what's going to happen, and his doctor doesn't. [Chapman] hopes to be back in he future," Collins said.

Under normal circumstances Collins would run the arena, but he's accepted a job as general manager of another venue. So the city turned to an arena consultant, Facilities Management Group. Chapman recommended the company, said Kit Kiser, city director of utilities and operations.

Matson is an employee of Atlanta-based FMG, which helps design arenas. He recently finished a consulting job at a 6,000-seat auditorium in Greenville, S.C., and has worked on civic center projects in Kingsport, Tenn., and as manager of the Long Beach (Calif.) Convention and Entertainment Center.

The contract runs for 30 days and is renewable, Matson said.

With Collins and Chapman absent, "they needed somebody to guide this place and make it work. Bob will be back," Matson said.

Michelle Bono, city public information officer, said the contract with FMG is $9,500 per month. That is almost double Chapman's salary, which is about $5,120 per month, according to the city's 1995 budget. Chapman is continuing to receive his salary, Kiser said.

Citing an agreement with his new employer, Collins declined to say where his new job is. But sources said he will be general manager of the West Palm Beach Auditorium in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Officials at Globe Facility Services, a Tampa, Fla., company that runs the auditorium under contract with the city of West Palm Beach, could not be reached for comment.

by CNB