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Council delays SFM sports-management renewal after heated exchange over Golden Complex maintenance
Summary
After council members criticized maintenance and booking at Golden Sports Complex, the Gulfport City Council postponed action on renewing the SFM contract for sports facilities to allow negotiation on scope, compensation and an option to carve Golden out of the agreement.
The Gulfport City Council postponed consideration of an amendment to the contract with Gulfport SFM LLC for operation and maintenance of the city’s sports facilities after an extended discussion about performance, contract language and community impacts.
Council members cataloged complaints about field maintenance, broken fences, delayed repairs and booking difficulties under the SFM arrangement. Councilmember Corbett said the company had “not lived up to their contract” and urged the council not to renew; she said constituents had called and lodged complaints about upkeep and access.
SFM representatives disputed the characterization, saying their team had met the majority of contract KPIs. A company representative reported recent weekend revenues and described a record-breaking event that generated approximately $31,000 in concessions for one weekend. The SFM representative also said the company employs about 60 local workers and would be open to removing the Golden Sports Complex from the scope of the contract if the council desired.
Council members asked whether the city’s leisure services staff could resume operations if the contract were not renewed and how separating Golden from SportsPlex might affect the contractor’s base compensation. The mayor urged negotiation rather than abrupt cancellation, saying staff needed time to prepare alternate plans and warning that abrupt termination could disrupt scheduled tournaments.
Several council members suggested a special-call meeting or short extension to allow staff, SFM and council members to negotiate contract language, quantify the value of Golden within the $1.3 million contract and draft amendments that would return local control of scheduling while preserving SportsPlex operations. The mayor and several council members said they believed a carve‑out for Golden was feasible; others said they wanted more robust accountability and clearer KPIs.
The council voted to postpone action and directed the mayor and administration to continue negotiations, with a follow‑up presentation to council expected at a future meeting. No final vote on the contract occurred at this session.
