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Council approves 10‑year operations agreement for Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center
Summary
The council unanimously approved a 10‑year operations agreement with Elite Athlete Services (EAS) to manage the city’s Elite Athlete Training Center; the agreement includes a $500,000 annual operator fee (paid from facility revenues when available), a revenue‑sharing formula to fund a CIP, and annual master planning requirements.
The City Council unanimously approved a 10‑year facility operations agreement with Elite Athlete Services LLC (EAS) to operate the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, with a framework to fund facility capital improvements and annually review a master plan.
Brian Malekian, president and COO of Elite Athlete Services, told the council the 155‑acre training campus houses national governing bodies including U.S. Archery, U.S. Rugby, U.S. Rowing and others and serves both elite athletes and community programming. "We're also the home of professional teams," Malekian said, citing local and international team visits and community events.
Under the approved agreement, EAS will manage day‑to‑day operations, maintenance and event programming, prepare an annual business plan and a five‑year capital improvement plan (CIP), and receive an annual operator fee of $500,000 paid from facility revenues when available. City staff explained the revenue split: the first $1 million of excess revenue after operating costs will be split 60/40 with 40% going to the city for the CIP; dollars above that are split 50/50. Staff emphasized that if revenues do not reach the $500,000 operator fee, the fee will not be paid and the city will not cover operator losses.
Freddie Lindo, president of the Padiac Racing Team (PRT), urged attention to pricing for small community organizers, saying event costs rose from about $3,000 per event in 2024 to quotes of $5,000+ for 2026, which risks pricing out local nonprofit events. Malekian acknowledged the balance between revenue generation and community access and said master planning and the annual CIP process will evaluate opportunities for shared community amenities and preferred rates for city‑sponsored programs.
Mayor John McCann moved to approve the resolution authorizing the agreement; the motion passed unanimously.
The agreement requires EAS to produce annual business plans and a five‑year CIP for city review and sets the operator fee and revenue‑sharing approach intended to direct facility revenues back into capital improvements.
