20140922-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 9/19/2014 3:48 PM Page 1 $2.00/SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2014 RNC puts A LEAGUE DEFLATED workers How recent controversies and PR mishaps have altered NFL’s image By KEVIN KLEPS lations. “As a consumer, you want to believe the franchise or the [email protected] league is going to do the right thing. The perception is they seem to put the game and money ahead of personal safety.” on tight Barbara Paynter has a simple message for organizations that are The NFL — and pro sports, for that matter — has never been an involved in public relations quagmires. all-saints club, but the recent controversies, which reached a boil- “Tell the truth. Tell it all,” said Paynter, a partner at Hennes ing point when TMZ released a video from an Atlantic City eleva- Paynter Communications in Cleveland. “If you have done some- tor of Rice beating up his then-fiancée (and current wife), have re- thing wrong, admit it and figure out how to fix it.” sulted in some of the largest outcries the league has ever deadline Paynter believes the NFL has made plenty of mistakes with its experienced. handling of the domestic violence case involving Baltimore “The shield took a bunch of hits,” said ESPN Cleveland person- By JAY MILLER Ravens running back Ray Rice, and the subsequent controversy ality Jerod Cherry, who played nine seasons in the NFL and was a [email protected] stemming from child abuse charges leveled against Minnesota member of three Super Bowl championship teams in New Eng- Vikings star Adrian Peterson. land. “It was one of the worst weeks I’ve witnessed from a PR Lonnie Coleman is happy the Republican Now, with the National Organization for Women calling for NFL standpoint. It was bad news because you got the impression guys National Committee is bringing its 2016 pres- commissioner Roger Goodell to resign and the league undergoing were not civil.” idential nominating convention to Cleveland. possibly the most tumultuous period in its history, the most pow- erful organization in professional sports has one of the worst types So he was all smiles when he said he will ‘Proof will be in the pudding’ do whatever it takes to meet the of controversies on its hands. tight, convention-related dead- The NFL has “a credibility problem,” Paynter said, and it starts Rice initially was suspended for two games in late July — more lines that he and other subcon- with Goodell, the commissioner who was paid a combined $105 than five months after the assault of Janay Palmer. On Sept. 8, tractors working on the 600-room million from 2008 to 2012, including a $44 million salary in 2012, See NFL, page 6 Hilton Downtown Cleveland hotel the most recent year in which the league’s financials were report- have been given to complete their ed. work on what is expected to be a “I think they have a real trust issue with their fans,” said key center of convention activity. Paynter, whose firm specializes in crisis commu- His firm is Coleman Spohn Corp., a mechan- nications, media training and media re- ical contractor. The convention center hotel, owned by Cuyahoga County, is expected to open June 1, 2016, in time for the Republican convention- eers, who are expected to arrive in mid-July. But, said the smiling Coleman, “I have to be out by March 1, 2016. There’s a very, very big penalty if I miss it.” In conversations in every corner of down- town Cleveland, business people and public officials are talking about the convention — as well as the plans that are being accelerat- ed or the perks that are being extended to make sure everything will run smoothly for the Republicans, whose convention still is 21 months or more away. Of course, this hospitality and generosity on the part of the Cleveland community aren’t expected to go unrewarded. The conven- tion is bringing 40,000 people to town — convention-goers, party officials and media personnel — each of whom is likely to spend anywhere from $200 to $1,000 a day, money that will pump up the regional economy. County public works director Bonnie Teeuwen acknowledged to Crain’s Cleveland Business that the RNC expects that no major downtown construction or renova- tion work will get underway unless it can be completed by June 1, 2016. The RNC has not set the dates in stone yet, though the party appears to be leaning toward a July18-21, 2016, timeframe, rather See RNC, page 8 38 REBECCA R. MARKOVITZ 7 MEETING AND EVENT PLANNER ENHANCED OUTLOOK NEWSPAPER EventWorks4D gains new life via virtual imaging Entire contents © 2014 74470 83781 technology ■ Page 13 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 35, No. 38 0 PLUS: SOUND BUSINESS ■ CHAGRIN FILM FESTIVAL ■ & MORE 20140922-NEWS--2-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 9/19/2014 3:57 PM Page 1 2 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2014 State study concerns airport industry Outdated lighting is By JAY MILLER eral aviation field, and the James M. Airport users and operators be- [email protected] Cox Dayton International Airport. lieve those numbers show the air- costing you a fortune. “I hope that the study provides ports are an important economic Ohio’s secondary airports have a some insight to the state that possi- development tool. significant economic impact on bly there is a greater role for them to “We see Lost Nation as a region- their communities, but the state of play.” al asset,” said Mark Rantala, execu- Ohio is not yet ready to increase Closing an airport can be diffi- tive director of the Lake County state funding for runway mainte- cult. The Federal Aviation Adminis- Port and Economic Development nance, safety or other improve- tration sets safety and runway con- Authority, which is taking over op- Say Farewell To ments at the perennially cash- dition standards for airports and eration of Willoughby Lost Nation Maintenance strapped airports. backs up those standards financial- Airport on Sept. 30. “Someone can After 18 months of study, the Ohio ly, though its airport improvement fly in from a plant in Omaha if they Department of Transportation re- budget has been slashed in recent have a facility in Mentor or cently released a draft of a study of years. Willoughby and land at Lost Na- the state’s 97 airfields used for busi- Nonetheless, if an airport closes, tion. That makes Lake County an ness and general aviation. It’s begun it must repay the FAA for any im- attractive place to do business.” Contact Us To Schedule Your a series of public meetings to gather provements it funded over the pri- Last September ODOT held a more information and expects a final or five years. first series of meetings around the Facility Audit Consultation report in December. In January 2013, ODOT initiated state to hear what airport operators, 757-641-8139440.829.4299 The Northeast Ohio meeting is the “Ohio Airports Focus Study.” general aviation pilots and other [email protected] set for Monday afternoon, Sept. 29, The plan was to examine the roles stakeholders saw as the highest pri- at the Brecksville Community Cen- airports play in their communities orities. Most speakers at a meeting f in ter. and to catalog the improvements in Brecksville spoke in favor of in- Corporate airport users and pri- and their costs. creased airport funding and against Energy Savings Up To 70% vate pilots are watching the state The draft report released earlier any closures. Maintenance Free Benefi ts study carefully. While they hope it this month highlighted the eco- Jeffrey Gorman, president and FirstEnergy Rebates will lead to increased funding, they nomic impact of the airports and CEO of Gorman-Rupp Co. in Mans- Sustainable Solutions are wary that the state might use its documented airfield capital im- field, said his company pilot in 2012 Complete Turnkey Process economic clout to pick winners and provement needs but did not sug- made about 50 trips into Mansfield losers, leading, ultimately, to the gest what, if any, additional state with customers. The firm’s air- closure of some airports. money might be committed to the plane, he said, “is one of the most Terry Slaybaugh, president of the airports. successful sales tools we’ve ever MIDWEST Ohio Aviation Association, an air- “We’re still in the draft stage of gotten.” port operator’s trade group that has the airport study,” said ODOT press Northeast Ohio airports included LIGHTING been pushing for a state aviation secretary Steve Faulkner. “We hope in the study are Ashtabula County GROUP capital program, said he doesn’t be- this report will help guide policy- Airport, Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland’s Premier Lighting Solution lieve the study will directly lead to makers and decisions when priori- Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Air- www.midwestlightinggroup.com the closure of any airports. But he tizing airport improvements.” port, Kent State University Airport, said the airports need help if they The draft study estimates that Lorain County Regional Airport, are going to survive. 17,500 jobs and $688 million in pay- Portage County Airport and “One of the things the study is roll and benefits can be tied to these Willoughby Lost Nation Airport. going to illustrate is there are huge airports. Adding in the economic Most of the state’s $3.1 billion capital needs at general aviation value of on-airport business ten- transportation spending budgeted Family Governance & Wealth Planning airports across the state,” said Slay- ants and visitor spending and ap- for 2015 is allocated to roads and Oct.