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Tacoma venues leaders outline $300 million capital need, say downtown Marriott in receivership
Summary
Tacoma Venues & Events Director Adam Cook introduced his leadership team, reported the convention center has rebounded above 2019 revenue levels, and said aggregated capital needs across city venues (ex‑convention center) are roughly $300,000,000 over the next 5–10 years; he also updated the committee that the downtown Marriott entered receivership and is now bank‑owned but remains operated by Marriott.
Adam Cook, director of Tacoma Venues & Events, introduced his leadership team to the committee and described the department’s five business lines — Tacoma Dome, the Greater Tacoma Convention Center, the Tacoma City Theaters, Cheney Stadium and community events — and how they are managed as enterprise operations and partnership arrangements.
“The convention center is very, very strong,” Cook told the committee, saying the 115,000‑square‑foot facility is respected across the industry and that revenue and business generation have recovered to and are now above pre‑pandemic (2019) levels. He said the department has transitioned toward booking larger events that deliver hotel room nights and restaurant business to downtown.
Cook and his staff also outlined maintenance and capital challenges. He said many of the city’s venues are aging — the Tacoma Dome is about 40 years old and Cheney Stadium and the theaters are decades old — and that deferred maintenance will require significant investment. “Aggregated across all of the facilities except the convention center, we’re talking somewhere in the neighborhood of $300,000,000,” Cook said, and added staff plans to bring a long‑term funding strategy and master plan to council later this year.
Diane Hager, finance manager, said the department operates as an enterprise fund for the Dome and convention center, while the theaters and Cheney Stadium receive city general‑fund support on the capital side. Hager noted the Tacoma City Theaters run an annual operating loss of about $1.0–$1.2 million and that real‑estate‑excise‑tax revenue contributes roughly $500,000 toward theater capital needs.
Cook provided a specific recent example of capital work at Cheney Stadium: the city performed roughly $5 million in seating renovations, about $3 million of which was covered by a state grant secured by the Tacoma Rainiers and about $2 million paid from the general fund.
On downtown hotel stability, Cook said the downtown Tacoma Marriott went into receivership when its prior ownership defaulted and the property reverted to the bank after an auction earlier this year. “The bank now has the full ownership on it,” Cook said, and added that the bank has invested in service and infrastructure improvements and that Marriott remains the operating partner. He characterized the bank stewardship as stabilizing for the hotel’s role connecting to convention business, and said any bank sale is likely years away.
The committee asked how the venues might support smaller community uses. Cook said theaters face constraints from collective‑bargaining agreements that raise costs, limiting discounted access for small nonprofit groups; staff is updating community‑nonprofit policies and exploring scaled rates and use of “dark days” at the dome and convention center for tighter‑turn community events.
Cook closed by reiterating that staff will return with more detailed budget and master‑plan proposals and by introducing the department’s assistant directors and contracted partners who will help implement the work.
The committee did not take action; the presentation concluded with questions and staff agreement to bring more detail to upcoming study sessions.
