W-b Offering Free Skating For Children

Adelaide Mcgarry 
December 21, 1997 
Adelaide (addie) H. Mcgarry, 100, Formerly Of Wyoming Avenue, West Pittston, 
Died Sunday At The Home Of Her Daughter In Carneys Point, N.j.

By DAVID J. RALIS; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Wednesday, December 24, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE- One of three companies offering at least $2 million for a
monopoly on arena concessions is bowing out, claiming the process for picking
the winner might have been unfairly tilted toward one of its competitors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Service America is crying foul because ARAMARK, one of its two rivals, owns
at least one-third and possibly half of Spectacor Management Group. Spectacor
had a hand in reviewing each of the proposals for the Luzerne County
Convention Center Authority as a hired consultant. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I think it was done to give it to ARA," said Larry Kilfoy, senior vice
president of business development for Service America. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Authority members concede the ownership ties between ARAMARK and Spectacor,
and that Spectacor saw all three offers. But they defended the evaluation
process Tuesday, saying it raised the most money possible for the project. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It appears like sour grapes," authority Chairman Kevin Blaum said of
Service America's complaints. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stephen Barrouk, another board member, agreed. He said Spectacor was
involved in the concessionaire review because the company advises the
authority on a variety of issues and is expected to manage the arena once it's
built. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If you start throwing people out because they have relationships, there
wouldn't be anyone left," he said. "There's a lot of cross ownership in the
industry." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Legg Mason, the authority's financial consultant, has recommended the board
hire ARAMARK because it had "the best overall financial proposal," according
to a memo dated Dec. 8. The company offered $2.2 million up front and a
varying percentage of all concession sales. The authority has yet to award the
contract. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Service America and a third competitor, Fine Host, both offered $2 million
as an initial investment in the arena plus differing percentages on hot dog,
beer and other merchandise sales, according to the memo. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Still, Kilfoy claimed in a letter he wrote to James Stevenson, assistant
vice president for Legg Mason, that the difference between his company's
proposal and ARAMARK's was "too close." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Asked to elaborate, Kilfoy said he suspects Spectacor might have tipped off
ARAMARK to the other offers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There might have been coaching," he said. "But I can't say for sure they
(ARAMARK) were coached unless I see that dates and the numbers on their
proposal were changed." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Blaum said: "I hope they (Spectacor) didn't see the numbers. ... Legg Mason
would never let that happen." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An hour later, after speaking with Tom Whitworth, a senior vice president
for Legg Mason, Blaum called back and said Spectacor did see the numbers.
"They were asked, are these realistic numbers and did they see any red flags.
All (Legg Mason was) looking for was comments." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Blaum said Legg Mason took the names off the proposals before letting
Spectacor review them. He also said, "The bids were already in. So showing
them the numbers didn't matter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "In their contract, Legg Mason gets a percentage of the money they get for
us from these other companies. So they had a financial incentive to squeeze
the most money possible out of them," he added. "Legg Mason is happy with the
integrity of the process. We got a good deal and Service America's offer
wasn't good enough." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In his letter, Kilfoy wrote that Legg Mason used "the most unusual bid
process" he has seen in 22 years in the concessionaire business, which
included 18 years of work for ARAMARK until he joined Service America in 1994. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Common courtesy says that if you're going to ask someone to make a
proposal you would want them to discuss it with you," he said Tuesday. "You
can't give the numbers in so many pages." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Yet, Legg Mason never asked Service America any questions about its offer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kilfoy's letter also asked Legg Mason to return the company's $5,000
certified check and to "please remove our name from your bidders list for
future opportunities. I do not wish to compete under these circumstances." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Asked why, he said, "I feel like a stalking horse," referring to a hunting
practice of tying an animal down to draw large prey. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Messages left for Whitworth and officers of Spectacor, ARAMARK and Fine
Host went unreturned Tuesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Concessionaire Drops Arena Bid Service America Withdraws From Running, Claiming Rival Might Have Benefited From Ties To A Management Company