Boss disputes Arizona journey was for business

Wrongful dismissal trial hears client being wooed was on vacation at the time

The executive director involved in the decision to fire two senior managers of Saskatoon’s Credit Union Centre over a trip they took to Arizona in 2011 said he does not buy the argument that the employees were trying to build a relationship with a client.

Will Lofdahl, executive director of what is now SaskTel Centre, took the witness stand in Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench on Tuesday during the wrongful dismissal trial of Brian Swidrovich, the centre’s former director of business and sponsorship, and Will Antonishyn, the centre’s former director of ticketing and finance.

Both men were fired after they spent more than $7,000 to travel to Phoenix, Ariz., in October 2011 for a trip that included golfing and attending a National Football League game.

Swidrovich has said the main objective of the trip was to strengthen Credit Union Centre’s relationship with the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) and that similar trips had happened in the past.

Lofdahl disagreed.

“Yes, hospitality has its role, but there’s a point at which — especially in the city environment — that whatever you’re primed to sell to this customer has to stand on its own legs by itself,” he told the court.

“We operate in a fish bowl. Whatever we do, whatever decision we make, we have to be comfortable that that decision can be on the front page of the paper the next morning.

“So to continue to take one client over and over and over again on hospitality trips suggests that, if I continue to take this person on hospitality trips, they’re going to do more business with me. And that doesn’t make sense,” he continued.

He added that the SIGA employee in question was on vacation at the time of the trip.

“The client was not in a position to be doing business,” Lofdahl said.

Swidrovich has said a secondary objective of the trip was to observe the Phoenix stadium because Credit Union Centre managers were considering the possibility of having a Canadian Football League stadium in Saskatoon.

Lofdahl said he didn’t give that argument much weight because the employees did not go on a structured tour and they drank beer before going to the football game.

“I think that if you’re in a working environment and you’re representing your organization, you don’t want to be under the influence of alcohol,” he said.

The trial is to continue Wednesday.