War Memorial Authority, City of Johnstown still negotiating conference center deal

Dave Sutor, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
Updated ·2 min read

The Cambria County War Memorial Authority tabled a measure Monday that calls for the organization to take over management of the City of Johnstown-owned Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center.

City and authority officials have been working on the proposal for weeks.

“The next board meeting, we might have an agreement,” Chris Glessner, the authority’s chairman, said. “There’s just some negotiating of terms back and forth. That’s all.”

According to a tentative plan, the authority would handle day-to-day operations of the venue located at 301 Napoleon St., downtown Johnstown, while the city would take care of utilities and capital costs.

Johnstown Area Regional Industries, Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, Johnstown Redevelopment Authority, Cambria Regional Chamber and Visit Johnstown would pay a combined $190,000 annually to help offset expenses.

Dustin Greene, co-owner of Top Dog Productions, which managed the venue from September 2022 through February, said he made a similar proposal to the same organizations last year.

“In September, I met with these entities that are funding this emergency kind of save of the conference center,” Greene said after attending Monday’s authority meeting. “I told them the same kind of numbers that would be needed to keep our organization running the conference center. And I find it outrageous that all of a sudden the money is available.

“We were there in September, and we were declined the chance to be funded – a local organization – the opportunity to continue our management of the conference center.”

Even with no official manager in place, the conference center will still host part of the annual Showcase for Commerce defense contracting expo that is scheduled for May 29-31.

Other activities will take place at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial, which is also located on Napoleon Street.

War Memorial representatives are assisting with Showcase activities at the conference center.

“We’re helping to make sure that the Showcase for Commerce is successful,” Glessner said.

Dave Sutor is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Sutor.