Committee adopts amendment to Coliseum management agreement with OVG Facilities LLC

The City of Charleston Finance Committee on April 20 approved Resolution 25‑38, authorizing the Coliseum and Convention Center Board to execute a second amendment to its management agreement with OVG Facilities LLC, staff said.

Staff told the committee that the original agreement, executed in September 2020, set incentive benchmarks beginning at $3.5 million in annual revenue and escalating to $4.5 million; OVG has exceeded those thresholds. Under the proposed amendment the benchmark for incentive eligibility would start at $5,000,000 and annually increase by the lesser of CPI or 3 percent. The amendment also lowers the percentage of revenue paid as an incentive: 15 percent at the negotiated benchmark and 10 percent if revenues exceed $7,000,000. Staff described a new cap on total incentive payments equal to the annual management fee to make the arrangement financially sustainable.

The amendment additionally establishes a cap on the city’s exposure for health‑insurance costs for participating OVG employees at $15,000 per participating employee, with that cap increasing by the lesser of CPI or 3 percent. Staff said negotiations were conducted at arm’s length with OVG and that the Coliseum board held a special meeting to consider and approve the amended terms before forwarding the amendment to the committee.

Assistant General Manager Andrew Thompson and Senior Vice President Doug Higgins of OVG were present for the discussion. Committee members asked about timing; staff said the current five‑year agreement expires June 30 and that the special meeting and the committee timeline were intended to give time to complete the amendment before that date. The committee adopted Resolution 25‑38 by voice vote; the transcript does not show a roll‑call tally.