GUEST COMMENTARY

 

It was always ‘Arena Yes’

Former TL columnist, current director

of Visit Luzerne County, reflects on arena’s 25 years

By ALAN K. STOUT

Special to The Times Leader

 

It’s hard to imagine Northeastern Pennsylvania without our wonderful Mohegan Arena. We now have an entire generation of area residents that have literally grown up attending events at the venue. I have photos of my children there, attending “Sesame Street Live,” when they were only six and four years old. For them, it has simply always been a part of life. But for many of us, that wasn’t always the case. Throughout our youth and young adulthood, we didn’t have an arena, and thus when we wanted to attend major events, we had to leave town. And for me, personally, that was the inspiration – back in the mid-’90s – for supporting the “Arena Yes” movement.

 

As the arena notes its 25^th anniversary, it's also hard to imagine anyone opposed to its construction. But there were plenty of naysayers 30 years ago, when the idea of building the arena first began to gain traction. Of course, it was all a bunch of nonsense, fueled by unfounded scare tactics, designed to make people believe the construction of the arena would lead to a heavy tax burden on local residents. I don’t even recall the basis for all of the false proclamations, but as a young music columnist for The Times Leader at the time, I tried to do my part to squash them. I wrote an editorial for the paper, titled “The arena will bring it all back home for us,” outlining the importance of the construction of the arena, and how it was important to bring major attractions here and, in turn, keep those entertainment dollars here. I also did some guest-bartending at the former Market Street Square nightclub and donated all of my tips to “Arena Yes.”

 

Commentary published in 1995

 Thankfully, we won the battle. And the rest   is history.

 

 The early days of the arena were   exciting. I recall walking around the   building, wearing a hard hat, while   working on a story about its   construction.  It was around that time   that I first got to know some of the great   people that worked there over the years,   such as former general manager, the   late Andy Long, and former marketing   director Kathleen Bird. Bob Nocek, Will   Beekman and former marketing director and current general manager Steve Poremba all became trusted and respected colleagues. And the arena, right from day-one, has always been a well-run facility and the home of worldclass entertainment.       

Concert review, 2005

The first concert was Neil Diamond. I remember the day the show was announced, with a big press conference at the Ramada on Public Square. And I remember Diamond christening the stage with a great show a short while later. Since 1999, everyone from Elton John to Prince, Sting, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Stone Temple Pilots, Def Leppard, The Eagles, Foo Fighters, Cher, John Mellencamp, Janet Jackson, and Simon & Garfunkel have graced its stage. I was fortunate enough to have covered them all, and to see firsthand how much joy they brought to the people of our community, and to those that travelled here just for those shows. For families, the arena has presented shows such as Disney On Ice, The Harlem Globetrotters, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Monster Trucks. There’s been WWE Wrestling, the annual holiday performances by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and legendary comedians. And, of course, it is the home of our Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Concert review, 2000

 It truly is hard to imagine NEPA without it.

 

 A few personal memories …

 

 When I covered the Sting show in 2001,   I took my late mother with me as my   “+1.” She was a big fan of the former   lead singer of The Police. After we got to   our seats, I told her that I had forgotten   that there was someone at the arena   that I wanted to introduce her to. She said, “OK,” as she knew that I knew a lot of people that worked there, and she always liked to meet my friends and colleagues. But I could tell as we were heading downstairs, towards the arena offices, that she was also concerned about missing the start of the concert.

 

“Alan,” she said, “who do you want me to meet? The show will be starting soon.”

 

“Sting” I said.

 

Mom - a bit stunned - immediately went into the restroom to adjust her hair and makeup.

 

Concert review, 2001

 On another occasion, I was seated in   The Times Leader’s box, taking in a   Penguins game, and was chatting with   the late Jerry Kellar, our fine sportswriter   known best for his superb coverage of   Penn State football. The box was usually  reserved for advertisers, but would sometimes be opened up for employees. This was in the fall of 1999, very early in the Penguins inaugural season. At that point, I had only been to one prior game, and it was Jerry’s very first game.

 

“This guy likes to fight,” I said to Jerry, as a big, young, strong Penguin entered the rink.

 

Jerry seemed puzzled. The team was brand new to the area and the season had just begun.

 

“Just watch,” I said.

 

Within less than a minute, fists were flying, and the player was scuffling with an opponent.

 

The player was Dennis Bonvie.

Concert review, 2001

Looking back, I guess it didn’t take very long for any of us to realize that Dennis was the team’s “enforcer.” I later got to know him a bit, and off the ice, he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Perhaps the most popular player in team history, he is now a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Hall of Fame.

 

On a few other occasions, some of the legendary musical acts that performed at the arena were kind enough to help support “Concert For A Cause,” a local charity event that was held each year and benefited local United Way programs. Elton John autographed a keyboard. John Mellencamp signed a guitar. Both knew exactly why they were doing it – to support local human-service programs – and those items brought in some big bucks at the annual “Concert For A Cause” rock auction. The arena staff helped make that happen, and I’ve never forgotten that.

 

These days, I serve as Executive Director of Visit Luzerne County, also known as the Luzerne County Convention & Visitors Bureau. And our office fully recognizes the importance of the Mohegan Arena. It is, of course, one of the county’s major attractions. Big shows at the arena often help fill our hotels and pack nearby restaurants. Several shopping areas, including the Arena Hub and Wilkes-Barre Township Marketplace, would not exist if it were not for the arena. It has had an incredibly positive economic impact on the region and has improved our quality of life. Twenty-five years later, it’s still hard to imagine why anyone would have opposed it.

Concert review, 2007

 As many know, the office of Visit Luzerne County   relocated, two and a half years ago, into the historic train   station in Wilkes-Barre. For many years, the building also   served as the Market Street Square nightclub, and one   morning, shortly before we opened our doors for the first   time, I was up on a ladder, decorating our lobby. I was   hanging up some framed images of the major attractions   from throughout the county, and as I hung a framed poster   of one of our true crown jewels – the Mohegan Arena – I   had a little flashback to the time I was bartending - in that   exact same room - more than 25 years prior, trying to   support “Arena Yes.”

 

 I smiled at the irony.

 

We did it. We all did it. The answer was, “Arena Yes.” And thanks to the continued hard work of the arena staff and the Luzerne County Convention Center Authority, it continues to enrich our lives.  

 

Congratulations, Mohegan Arena, on 25 wonderful years.

 

(Alan K. Stout is the Executive Director of Visit Luzerne County. He can be reached at (570) 819-1877 or alan.stout@luzernecounty.org.)

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spreading his wings

Don Henley talks candidly about his new album,

his new family, the environment,

 his former record label

and The Eagles

By ALAN K. STOUT
The Times Leader
August 25, 2000

  Don Henley sure isn’t your typical rock star.

  He’s incredibly articulate and well-spoken, and he combines grace with an unwavering sense of confidence. He talks passionately about literature, poetry, and language. He speaks with affection about his upbringing, his parents and his own wife and children. He has great command of the subjects that interest him, and he talks with genuine concern about the state of the nation, nature, and environmental issues.

  And, of course – when asked – he’ll talk about his music.

  The Grammy-winning former Eagle’s latest CD, “Inside Job,” was released earlier this summer. It comes 11 years after his previous effort, 1989’s “The End Of The Innocence,” and has already spawned the hit single “Taking You Home.”  The song – another gem in Henley’s long line of jewels – appears to have multiple themes: the love for his wife and children, and perhaps even his decision to raise them in his native Texas, rather than California.

   “It was inspired by my family – by my children and by my wife and the birth of my first daughter,” says Henley, 53, in an interview with the Times Leader. “I’m always squeamish about releasing a ballad like that first, because it sort of type-casts me. For 25 years now, I’ve had to fight this label of `mellow and laid-back’ and all that kind of stuff, and it’s been a struggle. But I decided this time `What the hell? It’s a good song. Let them go with it.’ ”

  For Henley, the joys of having a family of his own did not come until later in life. He married in 1995 for the first time, and although he was in his late 40s at the time, he says he’s glad he waited.

   “I was engaged a couple of times, but I never went through with it,” he says with a chuckle. “I think I would have been a failure if I had done it earlier, and I’ve always believed that the lives of children are too important to be part of an immature experiment.”

   Several of the songs on “Inside Job” reveal a sense of contentment, and tracks such as “Everything Is Different Now” and “Annabel” share the feelings or serenity found on “Taking You Home.” But – as with some of Henley’s previous work – there are also numbers with an edge. “Nobody Else In The World,” “Inside Job” and “Goodbye To A River” were clearly written out of frustration.

  “Partially,” says Henley, when asked if he is a man at peace. “At least with my personal life. My inner life is good, but the world out there really pisses me off.”

  Enter Henley the environmentalist. In 1990, he founded the Walden Woods Project, which is dedicated to preserving historic lands around Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. The location – the site from which Henry David Thoreau and other writers often drew inspiration – remains dear to Henley, as does the preservation project.

   “I founded it, it’s mine – and I can’t let it wither,” he says. “It remains very important to me and I work on it to some degree every week, raising money. We still need to raise $15 to $20 million dollars.”

  According to the Walden Woods Web site, about 70 percent of the Walden Woods area has been properly preserved, but there is still about 30 percent that can be commercially developed. Henley remains committed to not letting that happen.

  “We still have work to do,” he says. “I’m sure I’ll be working on that for the rest of my life, and I want my children to become part of it when they’re older. I think it’s a remarkable project, and I have some really wonderful people working on it with me. It addresses things that we’re losing in our culture: a sense of spirituality, a sense of respect and awe for the natural environment and for history.”

  In addition to the Walden Woods Project, Henley also has worked diligently at preserving open space and wildlife habitats in California’s Santa Monica Mountains and has formed a wetlands science/education institute in Texas. Add that to the fact that he lost his California home in an earthquake, started a family, relocated to Texas, worked on 1993’s “Common Thread: The Songs of The Eagles” all-star country tribute album and then participated in the 1994 Eagles’ reunion, and you might have your answer as to why it has been 11 years since his last album.

  Still, there is a perception that Henley is a musical perfectionist, known to agonize over words and arrangements in his songwriting. He’s asked if his own high standards contribute to his slow pace in the studio.

  “Well, first of all let me say that I don’t think there is any such thing as perfection in the world of art,” he says. “Perfection can only be found in nature, and any attempt of man to achieve perfection will always fall short. I would think a more accurate definition of what I do is that I strive for excellence. That’s one reason (for the time between albums), the other reason is that I never wanted my career to consume my life.”

Henley then offers yet another factor that contributed to the time between records. Prefacing the talk with the condition he couldn’t go into great detail because of legal reasons, he says his departure from his longtime label, Geffen Records, was not cordial. (“Inside Job” is his debut with Warner Bros. Records.)

“It was ugly,” says Henley of the split. “I simply didn’t want to make records for David Geffen anymore. I have absolutely no respect for the man. He’s been in and out of my professional life since 1971. … After The Eagles broke up, he came to me and said `You need to come and sign a record contract with me because you know I’ll take care of you, blah, blah, blah’ … and I fell for it, again, because I was feeling rather insecure and at loose ends at the time. So I signed with him, and it turned out to be the same guy I that remembered he was – who was not somebody I want to work with.

  “I was busting my ass to make really good albums, and they weren’t promoting them in a manner that was commensurate with my efforts. He really didn’t care about the music business at that point anyway, he was more interested in making films, collecting art and doing whatever he does. … I just didn’t feel like putting my heart and soul into any more records for a company that just didn’t really care.”

  One of Henley’s highest profiled endeavors over the past decade came in 1994 when he reunited with The Eagles for the first time in 15 years. “Hell Freezes Over,” the title of the band’s widely successful reunion album and tour, were named after a quote Henley once gave when asked if there would ever be such a reunion. Tension was a common trait in The Eagles’ camp from 1971-’79, and Henley says not much had changed in 1994.

  “It was a mixed bag, like it always is,” he says. “There were moments of great joy and satisfaction, and there were moments of great pain and sorrow and anger. It’s always been like that, and it will probably always be like that. But it was gratifying to know that there were that many people that were still interested in us. It was quite something to see the enormous numbers of people who turned out for the concerts. But internally – it could have been a lot more fun than it was, which is generally the case with The Eagles.

  “There’s a great line in `I Can’t Tell You Why’ that says `Nothing’s wrong for as far as I can see, we make it harder than it has to be.’ Well, that should be our theme song.”

  Still, Henley says he’d do it again under the right conditions.

  “If we make a new album of quality – well-thought-out, well-written, well-produced songs – then I would do another tour,” he says. “But I’m not keen on the idea of going out there again just for the money and rehashing the same old stuff. Naturally, if we go out on tour – even if we do have new material – we’ll have to play the old material too, but I don’t want to go out again just for the sake of going out.”

  Although Henley has a decisive answer to every other question he’s asked, there is one to which he has none. “The Eagles – Their Greatest Hits 1971-’75” has sold 26 million copies and has surpassed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as the bestselling U.S. album of all time.

  So, how does that feel?

  “I don’t really think about that too much,” says Henley. “It’s nice, and I’m very grateful and pleased, but it’s not something that pops into my mind every day. … I don’t know what it means anyway. Does it mean we’re geniuses, or that we just sunk to the lowest common denominator? …

  “I’m not big on living in the past. I try to live in the present, and to some degree, in the future.”

(Alan K. Stout has written about rock and pop music in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1992. His weekly radio show, "Music On The Menu," airs every Sunday from 9-10 p.m. on 105 The River in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Hazleton, Bloomsburg.)