Duluth convention center board shows executive director the door

DULUTH – The executive director of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center has been let go, and the public board that runs the massive, taxpayer-subsidized venue on the city's waterfront is not saying why.

Chelly Townsend said Monday her contract was not renewed by the board.

"It was just time, I guess," Townsend said. "They just want a change. It's the board's decision so I left it to them."

Townsend joined the DECC in 1990 as director of food service and rose to the director of operations role. She replaced Dan Russell after he retired in 2017.

"I'm a little sad of course, but I had a good run," she said.

The board of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Authority, with some members appointed by the mayor and others by the governor, did not provide any information on the firing Monday.

Board Chairwoman Karen Pionk on Tuesday said the local authority is "actively working with Chelley on this leadership transition" and recognized Townsend for "her many years of service, leadership and dedication to the DECC."

Board member and former Duluth Mayor Don Ness declined to comment, as did board member and former state Sen. Roger Reinert.

The DECC is running on a "skeleton crew," Townsend said, as event cancellations have essentially kept the doors shut since the pandemic upended life in March.

The Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center Authority was created by the state Legislature in 1963, and the Duluth Arena-Auditorium opened in 1966.

Last year the DECC had $15.4 million in operating expenses and $12.1 million in revenue, according to a state audit.

The city had pledged about $3.8 million in tourism tax dollars to the DECC this year, nearly all of that for debt service on AMSOIL Arena.

Brooks Johnson • 218-491-6496