Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Arena Management Rfp topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board opens bids for Tunica Arena and Sports Complex management; directs legal review
Summary
Supervisors opened six responses to the county'issued RFP to manage Tunica Arena and the Tunica Sports Complex, heard summaries of multiple proposals and approved a motion to refer the proposals to county counsel and staff for review and recommendation.
The Tunica County Board of Supervisors opened six proposals for management of the Tunica Arena and Tunica Sports Complex and voted to send the submissions to county staff and counsel for review.
The proposals, presented at the board'meeting, included a $120,000-per-year management offer from APW Agency (submitted on behalf of Artemis Pepper Williams) and a four-year, $325,000-per-year management proposal attributed to a firm associated with J. Todd Mastry. Other submissions included revenue-sharing and lease-management models from companies identified in the filings as I Am 3 Entertainment, "The Roots" (FTR), Sports Facilities Management LLC, and variants describing lease-plus-management arrangements. The board did not award a contract at the meeting.
The action matter: after the clerk read bids into the record, the board president entertained a motion "that we take all the proposals on the council." The motion passed on a voice vote. Later in the meeting the board voted to task County Attorney Gary Perry and Supervisor Dr. Willis with reviewing the proposals and returning a written recommendation to the board.
Why it matters: the county is seeking an outside operator to manage event booking, concessions, marketing and day-to-day operations for public facilities that the county owns. Management terms in the bids range from fixed annual management fees to lease-and-profit-share structures and contain differing assumptions about event volume, ticket fees and sponsorship splits.
Details of the bids presented to the board include: - APW Agency (Artemis Pepper Williams): $120,000 annual management fee; scope listed management, marketing, concessions and policies for alcohol sales. - I Am 3 Entertainment / related promoter language: proposed revenue-sharing arrangements (described in the submission as a 70/30 split favoring the county for certain events) and a multi-year management commitment. - J. Todd Mastry (submitted via chamber-affiliated filing): suggested an annual operating budget that included a $100,000 executive director salary, $75,000 marketing, $50,000 concessions management and a $30,000 contingency; target of 50+ annual events. - "The Roots" / FTR: proposed a lease term through Dec. 31, 2028, consulting fees (Year 1 $150,000; Year 2 $175,000; Year 3 $200,000, subject to profitability) and profit-sharing and ticket-fee arrangements; proposed $1 per ticket fee and defined profit-share percentages in the submission. - Sports Facilities Management LLC (SPM): proposed a monthly management fee equivalent to $20,000 per month for 10 years, with an option to manage the county'owned aquatic center for an additional $5,000 per month; included deferred incentive proposals and facility lists.
Discussion and next steps: the board did not debate or amend the bid terms at length at the meeting. Supervisors moved and approved a motion asking county counsel Gary Perry and Supervisor Dr. Willis to examine the proposals and bring recommendations back to the board. The board did not set an award date during the meeting.
Proposed contract terms and financial models varied across submissions; the board directed staff to analyze the proposals against the county's objectives and bring a recommendation to a future meeting.
