Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s Office is preparing to release an investigation into the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority after “several significant issues” were discovered, including around settlement agreements and contracting, according to multiple state and private-sector sources.
The audit, which is expected to be released later this summer, comes months after the organization’s executive director, David Gibbons, resigned, controversy escalated around a piece of land in South Boston, and a separate investigation into allegations of race discrimination at the authority.
In a statement to the Herald, DiZoglio confirmed the audit into the Convention Center Authority but declined to detail its findings before the release of the report.
“The audit team is preparing to release the audit of the Convention Center, however, the audit is still with the authority for their review. Once they finish reviewing the audit and respond to our findings, our office will then conduct a final review, respond to their comments, and prepare to release the report,” DiZoglio said in the statement.
The investigation is said to center on settlement agreements and contracting matters, among other things, and could be released in August, according to the state and private-sector sources who spoke to the Herald on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing audit.
The audit covers 2021 and 2022 with portions that look back to 2018, according to a separate source with knowledge of the investigation.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority did not immediately provide a response to a Herald inquiry.
The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority owns and oversees the Boston Convention Exhibition Center in the Seaport, The Lawn On D, the Hynes Convention Center, MassMutual Center in Springfield, and Boston Common Garage.
Gloria Larson took over in December as interim executive director after Gibbons stepped down in November, a move that was described as “mutually agreed” parting of ways. The resignation came a year before Gibbons’ three-year contract was set to end.
Healey appointed seven new members to the Convention Center’s Board of Directors in June 2023, replacing those who were given their posts by former Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican.
An investigation published in October 2023 found that found Black employees tended “to feel isolated or marginalized.”
“Even when employees of color complain about advancement or other employment decisions, Authority management rarely understands or even considers the potential underlying racial implications of this discontent,” the report found.
Issues around supplier diversity were also detailed in the report, with investigators at Prince Lobel Tye writing there “has been little direction or guidance from the Board or senior management on the importance of increasing supplier diversity.”
“The … (Gibbons) administration and its board have been much more focused on the financial bottom line. We believe that, with commitment and appropriate application of resources, the best of both worlds can be achieved: a truly inclusive and world-class convention and event organization that equitably serves all its constituencies,” the report said.