On November 17, 1913 the area of land known as Youngstown Township ceased to effectively exist as the township was annexed into the City of Youngstown.
In the 97 years that followed, the western boundary of Youngstown was one straight shot along Meridian Road from Trumbull County down to Boardman and Canfield townships.
Similarly, almost all of the City of Youngstown is to the south of Gypsy Lane, with the exception of North Side Hospital, Stambaugh golf course, and additional industrial lands near the Crab Creek - north of Gypsy but actually in Trumbull County.
In 2010 however, the boundaries changed, albeit slightly, in the name of economic development.
Here is the new map, which now has a funky border in its northwest area, bound to slightly change the coloring of future maps online and in print:
and a zoomed in picture:
Why the slight changes?
In one case, now a bit of Youngstown for the first time rests to the west of Meridian Road. It's 6.4 acres of undeveloped land where Phantom Fireworks will be constructing a new store.
In the other case, about 190 acres of industrial space was transferred from Girard to Youngstown for part of the V&M Steel Tubing manufacturing facility, good direct foreign investment in the Mahoning Valley from a company headquartered in Paris France.
In both cases, successfully completing economic development projects where local jobs will be created was the impetus.
Bottom line, cooperation = economic development = future abilities for all of the Mahoning Valley to market itself.
do you have opinions on the signage needed in downtown youngstown?
The YBI-portfolio company Via680 has partnered with the City of Youngstown's Office of Economic Development to develop media-rich tool to collect the opinions of the public.
Click here to watch the video and share your opinions. The whole process took me 6 minutes.
Please provide advice and they'll listen.
Via680 (the artist formerly known as BIzVeo) produces software that allows the user to send emails maximized with video, embedded questions, and track answers.
what are the applications?
Let's say you're a hospital and you need to make sure your patient is ready for surgery. With Via680's product, you can craft instructions for the patient, ask them questions, receive their input and even post-surgery questions as they recover from home.
Let's say you're a local butcher and you are looking to engage your clients. With Via680s product, you can share cooking videos, recipes, and questions of the specials of the week.
Let's say you are managing a project for work, and need to make sure all of your employees not only listen to information, but also if they understand it. With Via680's product, you can track what employees have opened your email, and by the voting process inside the email, you can quiz what employees actually understand the information.
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All three of the above examples are taking place right now.
The company, Via680, is headquartered in downtown youngstown (inside I-680), partnering with local hospitals and business (just off I-680), and is expanding their reach around the globe (way beyond I-680).
Now Via680's product is helping to advance the civic space.
Watch their video about signage options, and vote on the what you'd like to see downtown.
"And as a result of that investment, V&M Star’s parent company has decided to invest $650 million of its own into building a new one million square-foot mill right here in Youngstown – the largest industrial plant built in the Mahoning Valley since GM built its plant over in Lordstown in the 1960s.
Right here, in the heart of the old steel corridor, where some never thought we’d see an investment like this again, they’re placing their bet on American manufacturing and on this community."
Rebirth.
It's the Youngstown story being repeated and retold.
The news has been reported many times this Monday, but just to repeat for our friends worldwide...
The French/German company of Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes, headquartered in Paris, announced today a $650 million expansion project in the city of Youngstown.
communiqué de presse (in français) ici. press release (in english) here.
from the release for this direct overseas investment:
"Vallourec, leader mondial des solutions tubulaires premium, annonce aujourd’hui qu’il va construire une nouvelle tuberie pour petits diamètres à Youngstown (Ohio, Etats-Unis)."
continuing...
"The exploitation of unconventional gas resources has revolutionized the US gas market and, thanks to new technologies lowering extraction costs, has become a sustainable source of gas supply. Shale gas production typically requires an increased number of wells, horizontal drilling and sand fracturing at high pressures. This implies higher volumes of small diameter alloy pipes, with an increasing proportion of premium connections. "
"[The Youngstown project] will complement the range produced by Vallourec in North America and will consolidate the Group’s leadership position as a provider of competitive and fully integrated premium tubular solutions. Ideally located close to major shale basins (eg. Marcellus), and combined with the Group’s other operations in the vicinity of other shale plays, this new facility will benefit Vallourec’s customers in the US."
Youngstown's proximity to the Marcellus Shale was mentioned at the press conference today and through the company's press releases as one of the major reasons for choosing the Mahoning Valley.
But what really is the Marcellus Shale?
In a few words, the Marcellus Shale is a ginormous natural gas field which can be a major future source of energy.
The website geology.com presents an excellent overview of the Marcellus Shale, and wikipedia provides the following map of where it can be found in the US:
However, perhaps the greatest source online about Youngstown's opportunities with the Marcellus Shale can be found at two blogs, the Greater Youngstown 2.0 blog and the Burgh Diaspora blog.
The author's posts, for months now, have hit home the energy opportunities for a global Youngstown.
Is a fundamental component of improving a regional economy improving the connectivity to a region's own diaspora?
Today's Youngstown Vindicator highlights the opening of the VXI Center in 20 Federal Place, and tells the story of how the communications company selected the Mahoning Valley as a place to expand:
"Chris Butcher, who started with VXI Global Solutions two years ago in Los Angeles, said he and a few others talked up Youngstown when they heard the company was looking to locate its first call center in the Eastern time zone.
“I said, ‘If you want more people like us, and if you want to get the results we’re getting, come to Youngstown, Ohio,” said Butcher, 35, a Howland native who now lives in Hubbard.
Tobias Parrish, vice president of U.S. operations for the Los Angeles-based company, said executives looked at the area based on employee recommendations and liked what they saw."
"VXI intends to fill up the fourth floor of the building with 500 workers and has talked to the city about adding more workers on the fifth floor as business grows."
This blog reviewed last week the value proposition of expanding your technology-based business to the city of Youngstown:
"Youngstown has some of the lowest prices for office space and skilled labor costs in the United States; Youngstown is in close proximity to some of the smartest places and largest markets in the world (including Pittsburgh of G20 fame); Youngstown is home to its own clusters of IT and advanced materials companies and research; and, Youngstown now has the political and community leadership who are ready and willing to engage you."
Video and Business-Journal story with further details here.
After reading the article from this week's international print edition of The Economist, while it is clear there is much work to do - the value proposition of Youngstown as a place to start or expand a business is coming into sharper focus...
Youngstown has some of the lowest prices for office space and skilled labor costs in the United States; Youngstown is in close proximity to some of the smartest places and largest markets in the world (including Pittsburgh of G20 fame); Youngstown is home to its own clusters of IT and advanced materials companies and research; and, Youngstown now has the political and community leadership who are ready and willing to engage you.
to highlight one component from "Youngstown - A young town again":
"Yet for the first time in years morale in the city seems to have improved. One developer is hard at work converting old downtown high-rises into stylish new apartments. And Federal Plaza, the once abandoned main drag, is now speckled with a few clubs and restaurants. On Friday and Saturday nights, twenty-somethings spill out onto the pavements."
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It's interesting to wonder . . .
Out of all the cities in the world The Economist could profile this week in its pages, why choose Youngstown?
Whatever the reason, realize that as people around the world this week read this article, the story of a rebounding Youngstown with its own special value proposition will be in front of their faces.
And in their minds, the realization of Youngstown as a place of opportunity strengthens.
The urban landscape of downtown Youngstown changed a bit over the last week, as two YSU projects hit a milestone.
First, the communications tower just between Lincoln and Rayen Avenues received the final touches of its paint black and white paint makeover and *shazam*
the lights went on for the first time.
(photo [with back story] retrieved from YSU's Office of Marketing and Communications)
Second, earlier today the structural steel was topped off at the new $34 million building for the William College of Business.
You can see the design of the building here, and a construction cam of the site here.
here is a view looking up, as the building stretches from Rayen Avenue to Wood Avenue:
The success of the 2nd annual Grey to Green Festival illustrated Youngstown's full-court press in play: community volunteers, elected officials, university representatives, local farmers, students, and progressive citizens - all coming together to promote innovation and sustainability in the Mahoning Valley.
and the event reemphasized to me this concept:
that a single person with a great idea can be transformative in this town.
Kudos needs to be given to Deb Weaver, whose vision of this festival inspired and attracted a team of grassroots volunteers, which partnered with the leadership of many other organizations to pull off a kickass event.
a couple of hundred people were in Wick Park for the opening remarks, which included some of the following statements...
Congressman Tim Ryan on grassroots initiatives, venture capitalists, and the future of the region:
Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams on transforming urban america:
Will Allen from Growing Power in Milwaukee on bringing people to the table:
people were spilling out from the main pavilion:
the food court was so busy they ran out of food!
this piece received a lot of attention throughout the day:
Within 10 minutes of waking up this morning, I picked up the Sunday edition of the Youngstown Vindicator outside the front door.
Inside today's pages, there was a very well-written and reasoned piece by the CEO of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber concerning this week's upcoming release of Jim Traficant. It contained several thoughtful points, including the following passage:
"He has paid for his crimes and deserves to be with his family and friends. He deserves to be free and enjoy the things in life that are important to him. I do wish him well.
However, it’s one thing to wish someone well, someone who has completed his debt to society, but quite another thing to celebrate his release and homecoming.
Celebrating James Traficant’s return, as some in the Mahoning Valley are doing, is inappropriate.
He is a convicted felon, someone who brought shame and ridicule to his office and to his community."
While you can read the rest here, kudos needs to be given to the Chamber and their leadership, on taking a stance on this issue.
Let's hope the national and local media who report on this story in the week to come will present a balanced approach on the opinions that exist in this community regarding the release.
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Another story in today's paper includes some reactions to the Chamber piece.
according to one voice:
"I’d just like to see the chamber help my clients get more information, grants, find new markets [and] not expound about non-business issues like Traficant."
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So is this topic a non-business issue?
I remember in 2000 one of my first site visits - to Atlanta, Georgia - and meeting a gentleman who upon hearing I was from the Mahoning Valley, made comments about the corruption that existed in some of the elected officials. As a business person, the existence of corruption created a flashing sign in his mind, to stay away, and just not do business in the Mahoning Valley.
Indeed, the existence and celebration of corruption today contributes to the hindrance of long-term economic growth.
A proper interest of the Chamber is the long-term economic strength of the region.
Thus, it is proper for the Chamber to speak out on this issue.
Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams appeared on c-span on Wednesday and discussed primarily the economic situation of the city. You can watch the 30 minute segment here.
This was the mayor's second time on the nationwide program this year (a description of the first interview here).
The Business-Journal did a nice job of capturing the content of the segment, which can be found here.
"During the segment, Williams characterized Youngstown's economy as "a mixed bag," coping with current economic circumstances as well as the lingering affects of the collapse of the steel industry more than a generation ago. While the city is feeling the effects of the downturn, he said the city is "holding its own," and has a number of economic development projects in the works."
The mayor referenced on the air how a major announcement was coming later in the afternoon.
Then *boom* ... at 2pm in City Council Chambers, it was announced VXI Global Solutions of Los Angeles is looking to expand 500 new positions in their growing company into downtown youngstown. By October 1st, 150 people will be in 20 Federal Place, adding 50 more a month until they hit five-hundred more people working downtown.
That's 500 people eating, walking, looking for services... all downtown.
But you need to go to the Business-Journal'smain website today and here the 3 minute conversation on how the deal got done.
To hear Mayor Jay tell it, the fact that Youngstown was just named this month by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the top 10 cities in the U.S. to start a business verified the decision to expand their operations to Youngstown.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday restated the fact Youngstown was named one of the top 10 cities in the U.S. to start a business.
quick reactions, access to leadership, skilled labor force.
that's Youngstown 2010.
relocating support staff are already inquiring about where to live in the region.
good work, team Youngstown.
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ps. why are the c-span interview filmed in Pittsburgh? Can we get a location in the Mahoning Valley to do that, with a shot of the Youngstown skyline in the background?
Tucked right next to the Home Savings building on Federal Street is the Semple Building, which has had a really interesting history as a structure over the years. (more on that history later)
Its current renovation will enable the Semple to become the 3rd structure of the Youngstown Business Incubator complex, with all three buildings connected for the employees of various technology companies to walk back and forth and interact.
Here's a shot of the exterior:
but what's the current status of the construction on the inside?
let's take a look...
Simply put, the Semple Building is a 17,357 sq ft four-story filled with a melange of different types of wood and varied brickwork. In the many nooks and crannies of the building, one can see how the structure has developed over the years.
For example, large cut stones fill in the area in the basement.
Also in the basement, one can see the access tunnels that lead to underneath Federal Street. At some point, these access tunnels were bricked over.
As bricks were added over the years, many locations have multiple layers of the material.
Here's a bricked-in archway...
Here's a section with four different types of brick in one view...
Going up to higher floors, the new steps meet the old bricks...
the view from the 2nd floor of the Warner Theater and the Ford Theater...
and on the top floor, the original skylights will illuminate the space of a future downtown company...
finally, here is the finished product, with one quadrant of the building already inhabited...
it's shaping up to be a nice project.
can you envision your technology company in these kind of spaces?
then come to downtown youngstown and set up shop. the doors are open for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
A recent article in the Business-Journal with the title "Next Hot Spot? Western Reserve Corridor" examined the anticipated acceleration of new commercial and residential properties, especially as this east-west road south of the existing suburban population core is widened by the county.
The chief deputy engineer of Mahoning County discusses the project, explaining the phases of the widening, and the ongoing negotiations with property owners to secure the right-of-way. In terms of future planning and expending public resources in the long-term, one may ask if widening Western Reserve Road is the best use of funds.
On one hand, the region's population is predicted to shrink by 15% over the next twenty years. We will have less people, but our urbanized footprint is growing rapidly.
We all see how vacancies along route 224 in boardman are increasing, and one can imagine the pattern will only be accelerated as the shopping infrastructure ages. What happened to Midlothian Blvd in the city in recent decades may happen to route 224 in the suburbs during the next few decades.
County money today is being spent on creating more infrastructure. Future county money (and your taxes) will then be spent on future maintenance such as snow removal and repaving this additional infrastructure in the years to come. Meanwhile, the existing infrastructure and suburbs are more neglected as resources are shifted. One the other hand, you can get from Western Reserve Road to Cranberry Township in Pennsylvania in less than 45 minutes. If the future destiny of parts of the Youngstown metro region is to be a bedroom community for Pittsburgh, housing on Western Reserve Road offers the shortest commute via the OH-PA turnpike and its existing system of exits. Widening Western Reserve may get more people into Mahoning County and Ohio. what do you think?
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(historical note: Western Reserve Road was the southern boundary of both the Connecticut Western Reserve and Trumbull County. When Mahoning County was eventually formed, a chunk came from north of the road (from Trumbull) and a chunk from south of the road (from the already existing Columbiana County). Because of the different surveying methods used on either side of the road, the size of the townships differed on either side of Western Reserve Road and thus, Mahoning County today has two sizes of townships - resulting in its unique shape.
Two new positions have been formed in the Mahoning Valley, both Executive Director positions - each with an interesting story of how they are funded.
All interested parties from across the world are encouraged to apply.
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First off, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC), a newly-created nonprofit Community Development Corporation (CDC) for the city's neighborhoods, is seeking a CEO to manage operations and assist with the guidance of the organization.
The YNDC is receiving the bulk of its start-up operating funds from the Raymond J. Wean Foundation, with additional funds for programming coming from the City of Youngstown and other community grant opportunities.
Initial work of the YNDC will probably focus on housing rehabilitation and community greening issues, but the direction will be largely dictated by the Executive Director and the YNDC Board of Directors. From the job description (application here):
"The Executive Director is responsible for the YNDC's consistent achievement of its mission and financial objectives. The Executive Director will be a strategic thinker responsible for the day-to-day operations, regulatory compliance, liaison with governmental bodies, management of development projects, and implementation of long term plans.
The Director would also be responsible for the recruitment, employment, and release of all personnel, paid staff, contractors and volunteers. It is anticipated that a staff of 3-5 persons will be required."
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Various political jurisdictions are also pitching in resources to fund the Executive Director of the Western Reserve Port Authority, who will be given the responsibility of spearheading economic development in the joint zone of Mahoning and Trumbull Counties.
Commitments have been allocated (as reported here) by: Mahoning County - $100,000 annually Trumbull County - $100,000 City of Youngstown - $50,000 City of Warren - $50,000 City of Niles - $50,000 Howland Township and the Western Reserve Building Trades Council
Last week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released its most recent statistical tables for research and development (R&D) expenditures in science and engineering (S&E) at universities and colleges across the country.
This data allows us to peer into funding trends at local universities up to fiscal year 2007.
Funding to universities for research can come from a variety of sources: the federal government, state and local governments, private companies and industry, foundations, and the universities themselves.
Here then is a chart illustrating research funding in science and engineering at Youngstown St. University from 2000 to 2007.
The dollar values are in thousands, and displayed are trends for all combined sources of S&E R&D funds (usually the top line), the portion from the federal government (middle), and the portion from industry (lowest line):
The graph shows R&D funding at YSU in recent years had peaked back in 2004 at $1.8 million, dropping by 2007 to almost $600,000. Federal funding too experienced this growth and fall, while funding from companies consistently hovers around or less than $100,000.
Now looking at our friends at Cleveland St. University, the overall trend in S&E R&D funding on that campus is definitely upward. Total funding peaked as well in 2004, at $16.9 million, which is about 10 times that of YSU.
Next up is the University of Akron, which has experienced dramatic increases under the tenure of President Luis Proenza. The last six years of total S&E R&D funding on the chart has U of A in the $27 to $29 million range consistently.
We can also compare trends for the universities side-by-side:
The data for YSU also allows us to delve into the subjects being funded. For example, out of the total $611,000 attained by the university in 2007, according to the NSF:
- $9,000 went to the environmental sciences - $156,000 went to the life sciences - $7,000 went to the math/computer sciences - $375,000 went to the physical sciences (chemistry, physics) - $1,000 (approx) went to psychology, and - $59,000 went to engineering
In 2007, the state of Ohio was ranked 7th in the nation with $1.81 billion in science and engineering research funding to universities. More impressively, Ohio ranked fourth in the percent increase (42.5 percent) in this amount for the five-year period from FY03 to FY07.
Looking only at total funding in 2007 to public universities in the state: - $720 million at Ohio State - $376 million at Univ. of Cincinnati - $52.4 million at Univ. of Toledo - $49.7 million at Wright State - $38.7 million at Ohio Univ. - $27.1 million at Univ. of Akron - $23.7 million at Miami Univ. - $19.0 million at Kent State - $16.8 million at Air Force Inst. of Tech. - $15.9 million at Cleveland State - $9.1 million at Bowling Green - $5.0 million at NEOUCOM - $2.3 million at Central State - and $611,000 at YSU
To be sure, tracking research expenditures is only one simple component of measuring the overall complex impact of a university. In addition to economic development, a university improves the workforce, quality of life, community service opportunities, and the arts, among others.
Reasons for lower relative research rankings over the decades at YSU to other Ohio public universities can be a result of several factors:
- only two programs are currently offered at the PhD level (none in STEM) - historically smaller science and engineering masters degree programs - fewer connections to existing industries from earlier decades - smaller metro and university size - lack of metro-wide economic development strategy and implementation - poor governmental leadership at federal level prior to this decade However, that's the past - and time to move to the future.
According to this recent video taken by the Business-Journal of YSU President David Sweet, the mission of university has been updated, and has undergone a reclassification by the state as an urban research university:
In closing, what will the future hold?
Some important steps have been taken in the past few years, which may impact YSU's future opportunities to grow their R&D expenditures: - the establishment of a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) College as one of the university's academic units, along with its new leadership;
- the continued growth of local tech companies in the downtown;
- additional engagement with institutions in Pittsburgh, Akron, and Cleveland;
- enhanced partnerships with regional companies;
- leadership at the federal level that understands real economic development;
- the potential for state and regional leaders, and local citizens, to get on this train and not sit on the sidelines.
While some talk of regionalism is just talk, some chatter actually leads to action.
Take the case of the newly created Mahoning River Corridor Initiative (MRCI). Instead of just the river cities of Youngstown, Campbell, Lowellville and Struthers working together to take former steel mill properties and return them to productive usage, the concept has now been extended to the 9 cities along the 31 mile stretch of the Mahoning River in Ohio that share similar concerns.
MRCI's goals are to target the brownfields along the river for economic redevelopment projects, preservation, and the development of shared recreational areas.
Castlo Industrial Park is a good example of this cooperation, as it has refurbished many of the brick buildings (totaling 563,000 sq ft) at the Youngstown Sheet & Tube's Struthers Works since Castlo was created back in 1978.
At MRCI's meeting on Monday, the organization committed to working on the development of an "east-west rail service would link the Mahoning Valley to Cleveland and Pittsburgh as well as major metropolitan areas such as Chicago and New York.", estimated to be a $30 million project.
According to the Business-Journal's story:
"Proposed projects include construction of roads and bridges that would provide better access to brownfield sites in Struthers and Campbell, infrastructure improvements to the Castlo Industrial Park, environmental assessment and clean up of brownfield sites in McDonald, Girard, Newton Falls and Lowellville, construction of bike trails in Youngstown, Warren and Niles, and establishment of a wetlands bank."
Another story in the Business-Journal chronicles how the 1st in nation Interstate Workforce Region got off the ground.
"The collaborative effort began about a year ago, says Bert Cene, director of the Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association, as the counties looked at how to better link economic and work-force development resources. The designation allows for joint planning, sharing of information and coordination of services among the three counties in northeastern Ohio and the two in western Pennsylvania.
In February 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded the region a $250,000 grant to further the effort. The money funded development of a regional system to provide rapid-response services to dislocated workers, establish a coordinated industry-specific outreach, align educational institutions and training programs to meet the needs of employers, and to seek new employers for the region.
The money also was used to identify strengths and weaknesses of the area and to identify commonalities and obstacles to cooperation, says William Turner, Trumbull County One-Stop administrator.
Right now, the way workforce development dollars come down the channels, Ohio dollars must stay in Ohio and the same holds true for Pennsylvania. “We have many employers who have companies in Pennsylvania and in Ohio, yet we can’t use our workforce dollars to train them in Ohio,” she says. “We’re hoping this takes away those kinds of barriers.”
The federal government likes to see these kinds of regional groups, Garraty says, and such collaboratives are “going to be at the front of the line, at least when it comes to workforce development grants.”
The formal plan is to be presented to stakeholders in the region at a summit planned for April 23 in Sharon, Pa. That plan, which is still being crafted, will include initiatives to jointly market the region for development outside the area."
A print and online subscription to the Business-Journal - some of the best money I have ever spent.
one must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day has been.
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And now, some introspection:
Have to admit, the time around mid-february 2009 has been pretty eventful for Youngstown. Every once and a while, you need to celebrate your victories.
remember Bob's rule #4: "rejoice in the success of others"
Let's recap :
- Center of Excellence in Industrial Metrology and Three-Dimensional Imaging opens in downtown Youngstown, a partnership of YBI, YSU, YBI companies and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- NPR features the Youngstown Business Incubator on Morning Edition, discussing the growing cluster of technology companies in downtown Youngstown.
- Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams meets with President Obama at White House, and appears on c-span the next morning.
- The new Newport branch of the county's library system opens on Youngstown's South Side. The structure is a renovation of an empty big box grocery store.
- The new building for the East library is opened to the public on Youngstown's East Side.
- The ribbon is cut at the Arlington Heights Recreation Center just north of downtown, to be open for city residents needing meeting space, basketball courts, and exercise machines.
- YSU finalizes agreement with US Campus Suites, a private developer, to build The Flats at Wick - a student housing complex to be built between Elm Street and Bryson Street. Construction of the first of four buildings, with the first costing $7/5 million to build and housing 115, will begin in three months.
- Congressman Ryan submits House Bill 932, the "Community Regeneration, Sustainability, and Innovation Act of 2009" to Congress.
- Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell and Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, along with representatives from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in Ohio and Lawrence and Mercer counties in Pennsylvania announce the "Interstate Workforce Region" for workforce and economic development.
= The scholars come to town, with researchers from the National Vacant Properties Campaign releasing their report to address strategies for vacant parcels in Youngstown and Mahoning County.
- Dr. Cornell West of Harvard speaks to a packed house at Stambaugh Auditorium downtown.
- Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher and officials from the Ohio Department of Development visit Youngstown for a tour of neighborhoods and meets with over 600 people through the efforts of the MVOC.
- Finally, Kelly Pavlik defends his Middleweight titles in downtown Youngstown at the convocation center. The city is packed and Youngstown pride is strong.
some videos to leave you with:
and hear the crowd at minute 3:00 on this one . . .
