Consultant recommends Riverside Crossing Park for Dublin Christkindl market; city to buy booths and hire operator

DUBLIN, Ohio — A consultant hired to study a holiday market for Dublin presented a final feasibility report to City Council on March 3 recommending Riverside Crossing Park as the primary location for a Dublin Christkindl market that would emphasize German market traditions and a Dublin identity. The consultant, Town Square, advised the city to invest in reusable booth infrastructure and decorative assets while selecting a specialist operator to run vendor selection, daily operations and marketing.

Jerome of Town Square and Emily Goliber of city staff told council the market should open between Thanksgiving and Christmas and run a minimum of about 20 days (Thursday–Sunday), with a possible expansion to as many as 28 days to take advantage of school holiday recess. The study recommended launching with roughly 40 to 50 vendor booths, a mix of larger food booths and smaller retail booths, and to phase booth additions over the first five years as demand grows.

The consultant's conservative pro forma assumed an initial city capital (preopening) investment to purchase booths, seasonal structures and decor and projected operating revenues from vendor rents, a corporate sponsor and event rentals. The presentation said operating revenues could grow from roughly $235,000 in year one to about $642,000 by year five; operating expenses also rise with market size. Town Square summarized the five-year pro forma as showing an initial investment followed by increasing net positive annual results in later years but a five-year cumulative shortfall of about $500,000 driven largely by phased booth additions and ongoing capital reinvestment early in the program.

Key consultant recommendations presented to council:

- Location and scale: Use Riverside Crossing Park as the initial location and open a 20- to 28-day market with 40–50 booths in year one, expanding the footprint and booth count as the market establishes itself. The site benefits from an existing ice rink and park amenities.

- City role and capital: The city should own durable booth infrastructure and some decorative capital so an operator does not have to commit large upfront capital. Town Square said city ownership of booths lowers operator risk and attracts experienced market operators.

- Operator model: Hire a specialist third‑party operator by RFP to manage vendor selection, operations, marketing and day-of-event logistics. The consultant proposed a fee-sharing approach where the operator keeps sponsorship and certain event revenue lines and pays an increasing share of net operating receipts to the city as the market matures (an example ramp from 7.5% to 15% over several years was shown).

- Timeline: Propose RFP development and candidate outreach in Q2 2025, selection and contract negotiation in the second half of 2025, design and vendor recruitment in 2026, and a market launch in Q4 2026.

Council members asked about aesthetics, storage and staging for booths, sponsorship potential and the city's role in helping the market reach a “high-quality” look. Jerome said booth construction design and decorative choices would affect costs but that the market typically matures visually over several seasons; he and staff said council could seek to reserve additional capital funding or sponsorship revenue for enhancements. Town Square also recommended a city‑led selection committee and left open the option that the city retain some vendor‑selection oversight in early years.

Next steps: Staff said the report provides candidate operators and design guidance; council did not make a final funding commitment on the report at the March 3 meeting but asked staff to proceed with outreach to potential operators and to include the consultant's cost and timeline estimates in upcoming budget and CIP discussions.