Vendor says it restored Sullivan Arena and provided records, disputes some audit findings

Steve Agney, co‑managing member of O'Malley Ice and Sports, told the Anchorage Assembly the company stepped in after the pandemic to operate Bokey and Dempsey and later restored Sullivan Arena to public use.

Agney said the company spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on repairs and that it provided substantial documentation and access to accounting records. He said the company did not expect to profit but expected reimbursement for extraordinary costs incurred to reopen and maintain the facilities, and he disputed some audit assertions — notably some insurance items that he said had not previously been raised with the company.

Agney described practical challenges the vendor faced, including deferred maintenance and limited municipal maintenance staff capacity. He said some repairs required specialist contractors the municipality did not have on staff and that those costs were paid from building revenues. Agney also said he had engaged the municipality’s contract administrator and provided three‑inch‑thick documentation folders of invoices and backups.

Assembly members asked specific questions about why the contractor did not collect ticket surcharges and why it did not accept the utilities obligation after the contract’s date. Agney and his colleague said that, based on event attendance and ticketing economics, adding the utilities cost to users would have made events economically unviable and that the company had sought to negotiate solutions with the administration.

The vendor’s statements do not resolve disputed accounting points: the audit team said it lacked audited financial statements for a full reconciliation, and the assembly directed further work to determine the municipality’s exposure and next steps.