Scottsdale council hears Westworld stakeholders; staff to return with strategic plan, short-term fixes and task force item

Scottsdale city council on Aug. 18, 2025 centered a special work/study session on Westworld operations after a wave of stakeholder concerns, including the recent termination of assistant manager Larry Gimple, repeated leadership turnover and deferred infrastructure needs.

Stakeholders from the equestrian and events communities told the council they fear lost events and diminished competitiveness. "We have had a turnover to my recollection of just me going through county people of 40 people," said Jeff Geracki, a Westworld employee, describing staff churn and saying the facility has had "five general managers" in recent years. Equestrian producers and association representatives said Gimple’s dismissal left Westworld without equestrian expertise in management and urged immediate rehiring or replacement.

City staff laid out the facility’s role and costs. "The majority of the footprint is on federally owned land that is managed by the Bureau of Reclamation," Judy Doyle, senior director of enterprise operations, told council members, noting BOR standards affect project timelines and design. Doyle said Westworld’s FY25/26 operating budget is about $8,100,000 ("not including the debt service or indirect costs") and that staff estimates FY25/26 revenue at roughly $8,500,000. She cited a recent Arizona State University Seidman Research Institute review that attributed about $163.6 million in state GDP, roughly 1,800 jobs and $4.8 million in combined sales and bed taxes to Westworld-related activity.

Doyle and partners identified capital needs and near-term priorities. The infrastructure master plan and five-year capital plan list about $47.8 million in projects from FY25/26 through FY29/30 and a total approximate project cost of $55.6 million; the largest single project she flagged is a $14.1 million barn renovation. She said proposals include drainage improvements, additional paved parking, expanded shading and upgrades to the North Hall. Parking operations were described as a key revenue stream: the site has more than 11,000 parking spaces and a standard $10-per-vehicle charge, of which Westworld retains $3 and vendor operations retain $7.

City Manager Greg Caton said staff has already taken steps on staffing and will return with policy recommendations and authorizations on a short timetable. "We've opened the [assistant general manager] position, we've closed the position, and we are going through the applications as we speak now," Caton said, and added that staff is pursuing interim assistance while searching for someone with equestrian experience. He told council members the city would bring potential authorization for short-term fixes and contingency funding within 100 days and a strategic plan within 100–120 days.

Council members pressed for clearer performance indicators and transparency in operations. Councilman Barry Graham requested key performance indicators including facility utilization per square foot, operating loss, revenue per event, tenant-retention rates and maintenance downtime to measure progress over time. Council members and stakeholders also discussed parking-fee structures: producers and community-event organizers asked whether fees can be waived for certain public events or whether non-cash payment options can be provided.

The meeting yielded several concrete next steps rather than immediate policy changes. Mayor Lisa Borowski asked the clerk to place formation of a citizen stakeholder task force on a future mayor-and-council agenda; she said Anna Monair, chair of the Tourism and Development Commission, had agreed to chair that task force if the council moves forward. Staff committed to return with the strategic plan, a prioritized infrastructure master plan and requests for contingency funding for urgent items (for example, sound-system cabling and portable-stall repairs) and to keep communicating with event producers.

The session closed after council members expressed support for a task force and direction to staff. No formal ordinance, resolution or binding appropriation was adopted during the meeting; the council adjourned after the presentations and public comments.

Next steps: staff will continue stakeholder outreach, process applications for the assistant general manager role, explore interim equestrian support and return to council within the timelines described above with a strategic plan, prioritized infrastructure projects and any requests for contingency funds.