It was just a normal day at the Covelli Centre Tuesday.
That is until a robber, just after 9 a.m., forced his way in, bound an employee with tape and locked her in a room before making off with cash from an office area.
"We've never had an issue in the five years we've been here," said Eric Ryan, executive director of the center, 229 East Front St.
According to Ryan, the robber entered the part of the building that houses offices used by the Boston Culinary Group, the company contracted to handle the facility's concessions.
According to police, the male suspect, who was wearing a red jacket and black ski mask, demanded money from a finance employee, then locked her in an office.
He threatened the employee with a weapon but she never actually saw a gun, said police. She was not harmed in the incident.
However, the suspect took off with an undetermined amount of cash. Witnesses said they saw him jump a fence and run toward South Avenue.
Ryan said Tuesday was just a normal day.
Last week the center hosted high school basketball, and an operations crew, Tuesday, was busy changing over for this weekend's events. On down days like that, there's less security on site, but Ryan stressed that's not the case when the crowds start filling the seats.
"Our track record is phenomenal," Ryan said. "We have lots of security and police around."
Ryan said he will work with the Boston Culinary Group to increase security measures to ensure something similar doesn't happen again.
Police are looking for a male suspect, believed to be Spanish-speaking and between five feet, seven inches and five feet, ten inches tall. He was wearing a black ski mask and a red jacket.
