The owner of the Newfoundland Growlers is angry after seeing a report in The Telegram newspaper today about how the city altered and sat on a consultant’s report on Mile One and the Convention Centre.
Dean MacDonald, the CEO of Deacon Sports, says the city nullified a written agreement with the Growlers and the Edge regarding third-party operation of Mile One. The Telegram article quotes minutes from meetings of the board of St. John’s Sports and Entertainment.
The facilities are heavily subsidized by taxpayers at a time when the capital is staring at a multi-million dollar shortfall. The minutes also show that the CEO of SJSE was given a 12 per cent bonus.
MacDonald wants St. John’s to allow private enterprise to buy, or at least operate, Mile One. He says there’s no question the KPMG report was sanitized before it was made public.
He says they’re working for themselves, not the citizens of St. John’s. He’s very upset at how someone who is willing to invest millions of dollars is being treated by the city.