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Pace Center shortfall flagged; staff urges pricing, staffing changes and targeted transfers
Summary
City staff told council the Pace Center faces an operating gap unless adjustments are made: current-year revenues ~ $805,000, debt service $300k–$350k, and a projected near-term deficit of about $53,000. Staff recommended removing an optimistic $100,000 ticket-sales assumption and exploring pricing/scheduling changes and a $50,000 tourism transfer to stabilize operations.
Jacob Waguespack, the city’s facilities and events manager who has been handling Pace Center operations, told the council the venue’s finances are tighter than the original packet showed. Jacob presented current-year revenues of about $805,000 and said packet projections that pushed next-year revenues toward $914,000 relied on a $100,000 ticket-revenue assumption that staff now recommends removing because the city lacks ticketing infrastructure.
He said facility rental revenue is projected at roughly $175,000 and that debt-service obligations on the venue are in the $300,000–$350,000 range annually. On the expenditure side the original operating budget of $933,000 is projecting nearer $655,000 for the current fiscal year, with a next-year operating estimate of about $621,000 if staffing and revenue assumptions are left unchanged. After adjustments Jacob said the packet shows about a $53,000 projected deficit for next year absent other offsets.
Jacob outlined operational changes the administration favors to reduce the shortfall: charging clients for hourly labor (so events pay for tech and facility staffing rather than the city absorbing those overtime costs), moving to block-scheduling or shorter rental windows, and reconsidering weekday/discount structures to increase net revenue while avoiding pricing that would push renters to neighboring venues. He said these choices aim to preserve bookings while shifting some labor costs onto event organizers.
Council members also discussed using tourism-related revenues; staff noted a roughly $50,000 state tourism allocation referenced in the packet and said council could elect to transfer part of that funding to Pace Center operations to reduce the near-term gap. Jacob stressed any manager hire, restored ticketing capability, or new staffing plan would change the forecast and that the council would need to weigh service priorities against the general fund impact.
Council directed staff to return with updated Pace Center pages, clarified staffing plans and the proposed impact on the general fund before a final adoption vote.
