Escambia County reviews Bay Center renovation, ASM Global offers updated studies as part of contract talks

Escambia County commissioners on March 6 received an update from ASM Global on planned maintenance and potential renovation options for the Bay ("Base") Center, and discussed whether to extend ASM’s operating contract while refining cost and program studies for a possible adjacent event/flex center.

The briefing outlined $10,000,000 in work approved earlier by the Tourist Development Council that ASM says will cover deferred maintenance and building upgrades — roughly $6,000,000 for work to be completed ahead of the upcoming event season and $4,000,000 to be spent over the following two years — and described broader renovation concepts, including a standalone event center or flexible space next to the arena that consultants have previously priced in the tens of millions.

Why it matters: The Bay Center serves as a local venue for hockey, concerts, graduations, conventions and emergency sheltering, and commissioners and stakeholders framed the renovation question as both an economic development (tourism/hotel tax) issue and a local quality-of-life investment for schools, nonprofits and youth sports.

Michael Capps, general manager for ASM Global at the Pensacola Bay Center, told commissioners the $10 million approved by the county and the Tourist Development Council is “primarily for deferred maintenance” and listed projects that include a new ice plant and ice floor, retractable lower-level seating, parking-lot repaving, upgraded fencing, lighting and locker-room improvements. "That $10,000,000 is primarily for deferred maintenance, issues that we've had over the years with the Bay Center to get small things fixed," Capps said.

ASM executives also summarized recent facility performance. Doug Thornton, president of North American Venues for ASM Global, said ASM has benchmarked revenue improvements across its portfolio and argued the company can leverage national sponsorship, premium seating and food-and-beverage strategies to increase net revenue. "We're able to work with the architects and design a facility to get the maximum efficiency out of the revenue production," Thornton said.

Previous consultant work and cost estimates. Commissioners and ASM staff referenced a facility condition assessment and concepts produced by Populous in 2023 (with amendments in 2024). ASM described one consolidated option that they said would put Bay Center improvements and a new event center in the general $45–85 million range depending on scope and whether exterior video boards and rigging upgrades are included. Thornton said the higher figure — the version that folded in a freestanding event center — had been discussed previously as a working total of about $85,000,000.

ASM’s offer and commission next steps. ASM presented two options for the county’s consideration: a two‑year contract extension to continue operating the Bay Center, or the same extension paired with assistance to update the Populous work and to commission a market-feasibility/test-fit study of an adjacent event center. ASM said it would provide or fund study work rather than obligate a fixed-dollar grant. When asked about the dollar amount, ASM confirmed it would provide up to $200,000 toward Populous and an additional market/feasibility scope (CSL/Convention Sports & Leisure), though several commissioners asked that contract language focus on ASM providing the updated studies rather than specifying a dollar cap.

Timing and implementation. Capps said much of the initial deferred maintenance work is scheduled for July–September so it will be complete before the next event season. ASM and county staff noted construction-cost escalation since the original studies and recommended advancing the Populous work to obtain schematic drawings and rough construction estimates before a final funding decision. County administration indicated that if the commission wants the updated Populous/CSL work included in an ASM addendum, staff would prepare a minor contract amendment and bring the item back to the board at its second March meeting; the board did not vote on a contract amendment during the March 6 session.

Points of debate and clarifications. Commissioners raised several recurring questions: whether a second ice sheet is warranted and how it would be configured; how a new event/flex center should balance sports versus convention finishes and how that trade-off affects cost and long‑term revenue; and whether municipal partners (the City of Pensacola, the school board and nearby property owners) should be asked to contribute capital. Commissioner May emphasized the Bay Center’s role as a "quality-of-life venue" for graduations, stormsheltering and local use and urged active outreach to city and school partners on capital participation. ASM and participants also discussed naming-rights sales, exterior LED/media opportunities and the need to raise annual maintenance funding (the group discussed increasing a long-standing $200,000 annual maintenance allocation toward a $500,000 level).

Community and economic impacts. Stakeholders at the meeting — including Pensacola Sports representatives and Visit Pensacola proponents — said a flex event center could expand youth-sports tournaments and conferences, increasing hotel-night demand and hotel-tax revenue even if the event center itself would not be cash-flow positive. Greg Harris of Pensacola Sports said youth-sports and tournament demand is strong and that additional ice capacity and flexible courts could help attract more out-of-area events. Visit Pensacola participants noted a backlog of meeting leads (commission staff said they track hundreds of meeting prospects constrained by local square footage) and argued improved meeting/flat-floor inventory would capture conventions now going to nearby markets.

Votes at a glance (items in the morning CRA portion of the meeting): the Community Redevelopment Agency minutes for Feb. 20, 2025, were approved by motion and second and passed unanimously; three budget-and-finance consent items — (1) residential improvement grant program funding and lien agreements, (2) residential roof program funding and lien agreements, and (3) cancellation of residential rehab grant program liens — were each moved, seconded and passed unanimously. The committee did not adopt any substantive change to ASM’s contract on March 6; staff said an addendum could be prepared if commissioners direct it.

What’s next: County staff said they will prepare contract amendment language if the board directs staff to include updated Populous/CSL work in ASM’s extension; the amendment was expected to return at the board’s next regular meeting in March. Commissioners also asked staff to continue stakeholder outreach, refine subsidy and maintenance projections, and return with clearer schematic costs and phasing before any commitment of new capital.

Ending: Commissioners expressed broad interest in advancing planning work quickly but did not approve a capital package or a formal contract amendment at the March 6 meeting. The board scheduled follow-up work and public hearings as part of the next steps toward a possible renovation and adjacent event center.