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Waco updates council on convention center handoff to Legends Global; early year shows mixed results and capital investment
Summary
City staff briefed council on the December 2024 transition of the Waco Convention Center to Legends Global, reporting a 10‑year management contract with a $120,000 FY25 fixed fee, a $750,000 two‑year capital commitment from Legends and $409,648 spent or approved so far; FY25 was a "stub year" with revenues below budget but a positive Convention Services Fund balance overall.
City staff told the Waco City Council that the Waco Convention Center began private management under Legends Global on Dec. 1, 2024, and that the first year should be judged as a transition or "stub" year because many large conventions book 18–36 months in advance.
"Legends inherited the sales pipeline," Hannah Anderson, the city’s assistant destination development officer, said, noting the firm focused on short‑window bookings and operational improvements during the handoff. Anderson said the city and Legends worked 285 leads in the first year, contracted 181 events (20 of them Priority‑1 hotel‑generating events) and achieved a 64 percent conversion rate; she said Legends has contributed $409,648 toward capital improvements with $340,352 remaining of a $750,000 two‑year commitment.
Assistant City Manager Lisa Blackman reviewed contract terms: the initial management term is 10 years; Legends must maintain at least 50 percent of bookings that generate hotel occupancy; the annual fixed management fee for FY25 is $120,000 and rises by 3 percent or CPI annually; Legends is entitled to 4 percent of gross catering sales and 15 percent of new sponsorship revenues; and qualitative and quantitative incentives are capped at half the fixed fee.
Managing Director of Finance Colin Booth described unaudited FY25 financials: the Convention Center’s direct revenues were $1,035,920 against a budget of $1,627,430 (a negative variance of about $591,510), driven mainly by lower rental income. But Booth said the broader Convention Services Fund — which includes hotel occupancy tax collections, DMO activity and sales and marketing expenses — ended the year unaudited with a positive variance of about $408,000 versus budgets, avoiding use of general‑fund support.
Council members asked for additional pipeline and comparative historical booking data to help evaluate Legends’ performance versus prior internal management. Council member George Chase and others asked for year‑over‑year pipelines (2022–24) and staffing‑level comparisons; staff agreed to provide those details outside the meeting.
The council paused for questions and then recessed to an executive session later in the agenda.
