FAIRFIELD — Financial woes have prompted a change in management by the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center Board.

The board recently hired VenuWorks, a professional management and consulting company, to operate the facility and to help alleviate some of the facility’s debt.

“There is some considerable debt that we need cash flow payments for,” said FACC Board President Pat Hurley.

While there have been rumors that part of the debt was due to overspending on marketing efforts, Hurley said those claims are false.

“It’s all rumor,” he said. “There was no overspending on promotions. We should have actually been spending more on promoting activities.”

He said most of the debt was incurred by construction costs of the facility. The cost to build the arts and convention center was $7 million.

The FACC is a private entity and Hurley did not want to disclose exactly how much of the $7 million was left to pay off, but he said there is still “a chunk” of debt related to construction costs.

“We are still in the red, but with the additional programming, we hope to clear that up,” he said.

While VenuWorks has no financial commitment to the center, Hurley said that the board is hopeful VenuWorks’ efforts will be able to draw more visitors, which will bring in more revenue and help alleviate some of the financial burden.

“We brought them in to bring in expertise in entertainment to the facility. They are strictly a management company,” Hurley said.

Tammy Koolbeck, vice president of venue services for VenuWorks, said the company is known for its success in providing full management services for arenas, theaters and convention centers, which are primarily under the governance of municipalities, counties, colleges and universities.

VenuWorks, headquartered in Ames, serves 29 facilities in 16 communities and 11 states throughout the United States. It also manages food and beverage operations and provides event booking and promotion services. VenuWorks also performs feasibility studies and consulting work for clients with existing and prospective public assembly facilities.

“Our goal is to stabilize the financial responsibility of the center as well as programming for the theater and convention center,” Koolbeck said.

“We came in at the board’s request in the first part of July and took full management responsibilities on Aug. 18.”

“We hope they can bring in a wide spectrum of programming for the theater, pavilion and meeting rooms that will bring in all types of things that appeal to the community as a whole and offer a wide variety of entertainment to the community,” Hurley said.