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Fair board authorizes up-to-five-year event licenses and approves Midway carnival contract
Summary
The board amended bylaws to allow the executive director to sign event license agreements for up to five years to help recruit multi-year events, and authorized the executive director to execute a contract with North American Midway Entertainment for Midway and carnival services at the Nashville Fair.
The Board of Fair Commissioners voted April 7 to update its bylaws to permit the executive director to execute event license agreements of up to five years, a change staff said is aimed at attracting multi-year and large-scale events. The board also authorized the executive director to execute a separate contract with North American Midway Entertainment Amusement South LLC to provide Midway and carnival services at the Nashville Fair.
Director Rick Womack told the board that some large events ask for multi-year commitments as part of their investment decision. “It'd be kinda nice to be able to just lock them in,” Womack said, describing Christmas Village and other recurring events as examples where a multi-year license could simplify contracting.
The bylaw revision includes an administrative safeguard: if the executive director determines a proposed multi-year license would have significant community impacts, the director will notify the board in advance; several commissioners asked that the full board, not only the chair, receive that notification and staff said they will accommodate that request.
The Midway contract authorized by the board is the same vendor the fairgrounds has used historically; staff described the agreement as providing a flat revenue share to Metro for concessions and a share of 30% for certain receipts and attractions, similar to previous arrangements. The contract term described in the discussion is effectively a two-year guaranteed term with an option to extend for three additional years at the board’s discretion.
Commissioners discussed the trade-offs of locking multi-year rates in an uncertain inflationary environment. Staff said escalation clauses and CPI adjustments can be included in contracts to protect the fairgrounds and that the two-year guaranteed period with optional renewals gives the board leverage to revisit terms if macroeconomic conditions change.
Both actions were approved by voice vote with all members present saying “aye.”
