The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center has selected Glensheen Mansion chief Dan Hartman as its new executive director.

"There's a lot of fun potential for the DECC," Hartman said. "I love celebrating Duluth and the region, and that's what the DECC does at its very basic level."

Hartman takes over a facility hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 400 employees laid off and a revenue drop of nearly $6 million in 2020. He replaces Roger Reinert, who had filled the role on an interim basis since August.

"Roger and the [DECC] board did a very good job steering through some really hard times," said Hartman, a former City Council member. "The challenge of the next phase is almost the opposite."

As restrictions loosen, demand will increase for larger events, he said, and the DECC is well-positioned to safely do that indoors and out.

The 800,000-square-foot center is a regional tourism hub with a symphony hall, ballrooms and meeting spaces, and two arenas — one of which is Amsoil, the 6,600-seat home of the University of Minnesota Duluth's hockey teams.

DECC, Star Tribune

Under Hartman, annual tour revenue at Glensheen, the historic mansion on Lake Superior, increased from $700,000 in 2013 to nearly $2 million in 2018.

The DECC is "excited" to see what Hartman's vision will bring "as we emerge from the pandemic and see brighter days ahead," Board Chairman Pat Mullen said in a news release. Hartman begins his new role June 14.

Jana Hollingsworth • 218-508-2450