EMMA REILLY

Head of Hamilton venues leaving

Scott Warren, the head of the city’s major entertainment facilities, is leaving his role.

Warren sent an email to his contacts in the music industry this week announcing his departure from Spectra Venue Management, the company that operates FirstOntario Concert Hall (formerly Hamilton Place) and FirstOntario Centre (formerly Copps Coliseum).

His departure formally takes place Dec. 31, though he states in the email “from now through the end of the year, I will be taking a much-anticipated vacation.”

Warren, a Baltimore native and father of four, took the helm of the two venues in 2013. He came to Hamilton from Cleveland, where he ran a major venue at Cleveland State University.

“Leading the team at FirstOntario Centre, FirstOntario Concert Hall and the Studio has been one of the greatest joys of my life,” he said in his email. “These venues and the staff mean so much to me. I know we have accomplished a great deal over the past five years and I am grateful to have had an impact on this amazing city.”

It’s not clear why he is leaving his job. In his email, Warren says that he is “not sure, just yet, what the next chapter or season looks like for me.”

“I believe that amazing things are to come,” he adds. “I look forward to sharing what’s ahead in the near future.”

Tim Murphy, an employee at Spectra’s corporate office in Philadelphia, will come to Hamilton as the interim general manager of Core Entertainment. He declined to comment to The Spectator.

In his email, Warren says that he has developed some of the strongest friendships and relationships he’s ever known while in Hamilton.

“Almost five years ago, I didn’t know Celsius or kilometres, and bags of milk were really weird to me. I’ve since grown to love this amazing country, city and its people,” he said.

“Thank you for welcoming me nearly five years ago. I cannot properly articulate what you have meant to me during my tenure at Core Entertainment. I will be forever grateful.”