Cleveland Boat Show organizers drop bid to have court-appointed receiver oversee I-X

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The organizers of the Cleveland Boat Show told a judge that they are dropping their bid to have a receiver oversee the company that runs the city-owned I-X Center.

On Friday, the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association told Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael Russo that it, I-X Center Corp, and other trade groups that put shows on at the facility at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport are going to try to work out their disputes through mediation.

As a result, they withdrew a motion filed in March to have a receiver oversee the I-X Center Corp.’s finances. The trade association sought the receivership as a means to ensure I-X Center Corp. could honor any contracts to host shows if ordered and pay any damages should it lose in litigation.

The association, which puts on the Progressive Cleveland Boat Show and Fishing Expo, also informed the judge that it would drop a request to dismiss the lawsuit I-X Center Corp. filed in January. It told the judge it might re-file both requests should negotiations break down.

Other organizations expected to participate in mediation include the Cleveland Auto Show, Great Big Home + Garden Show and the Ohio RV Supershow, court records show.

The motion came two days after Russo held a pretrial conference with attorneys for all the parties. Russo said that he would set a schedule to file motions should mediation fail, according to minutes from the conference.

I-X Center Corp., led by Ray Park, announced in September that it was closing the 2.2-million-square-foot facility. The company cited the coronavirus pandemic’s financial toll on the events business decimated when government orders and health guidance effectively shut down large gatherings to prevent the spread of the virus.

The company’s decision to close the events center and lay off most of its staff left event organizers scrambling for new space. Some struck agreements with the smaller Huntington Convention Center in downtown Cleveland. The Boat Show organizers elected to hold this year’s event virtually and in person, with some portions taking place online and others at dealerships.

In December, several show organizers sued I-X Center Corp., asking a judge to force the company to honor contracts to host scheduled events over the next several years.

I-X Center Corp. sued the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association in January and sought a court’s declaration that it does not need to honor its contract to host the Cleveland Boat Show, claiming unforeseen circumstances — the pandemic — rendered it unable to do so this year and in the future.

The association argued that the virus should not prevent I-X Center Corp. from honoring its contracts once it’s safe for large groups to gather.

Meanwhile, I-X Center Corp. in November entered a two-year lease with GOJO, the Akron-based manufacturer of Purell hand sanitizer, for 700,000 square feet of warehouse space at the center. That space is separate from the area of the facility where the public attended events.

The city has owned the facility since 1999. I-X Center Corp. operates it with a lease that runs through 2024.