[0:02] Good morning. >> Welcome to the Mesa City Council study

[0:07] session for August 13, 2026. Mayor Freeman is out of town and is excused.

[0:13] All other council members are present, although Council Member Heredia is

[0:19] attending by Zoom. I don't see him on yet.

[0:21] » Okay. So, Council Member Heredia is running a few minutes behind, so we'll

[0:26] just note when he uh he calls in. Item number one is to review the agenda

[0:32] we have for our Monday, August 17th council meeting. Let's go through that

[0:35] agenda if council has any questions. Mr. Butler, I know we have presentation

[0:41] set for 5 A and 5B. >> We do.

[0:43] » Yeah. Okay. So, we'll skip 5 A and 5B for now. Does anybody have any questions

[0:49] or comments on the remainder of the agenda?

[0:55] Seeing none, why don't we start with 5A? All right. So, staff have come up and uh

[1:03] vice mayor, council, we're uh really excited we're we've made it to this day

[1:07] where we're bringing um contract forward for your consideration with Legends

[1:12] Global uh for management of the convention center. And I know u this is

[1:18] one uh opportunity that we had discussed um as sets the stage for bringing in uh

[1:26] all the types of uh hospitality and uh maximizing the use of the convention

[1:33] center in in ways that um we as an independent operator were not uh able to

[1:40] do. And so um so we're really glad that we've after a competitive process gotten

[1:45] to this point for your consideration. I'll turn it over to Candace and she can

[1:49] walk you through everything that's led us to this point.

[1:53] » Good mayor, good morning uh vice mayor and council. Um I Candace Candace,

[1:58] deputy city manager, and I'd like to um introduce the team that we have up here

[2:02] with us today. So to my right is uh Brad Gnner. He is our consultant that we used

[2:06] on this particular project since this is the first time we've looked into this

[2:10] type of a public private partnership. He is a a former senior vice president of

[2:15] AEG um global previously and about and

[2:19] decades of experience in this industry. So we were very help um glad to have him

[2:23] on this project. Uh to my left we have uh Harry K. He is the senior vice

[2:29] president of business development for Legends Global, which is the contractor

[2:33] we are proposing to enter into an agreement with. Um, and to his left is

[2:37] Tyler Oin. You, some of you may have remembered him from last year. So, he uh

[2:42] is with CSL. CSL did the feasibility study for us um when we were looking at

[2:46] what improvements we would need to modernize the convention center in the

[2:49] amphitheater. And so, he presented to you last March of 20 um 25. Um so with

[2:56] that we will start into the presentation.

[2:59] » All right. And council member Heredia is online.

[3:01] » Okay. >> Great. Um this just gives an overview.

[3:04] What we're talking about here is the Mesa Convention Center and the Mesa

[3:07] Amphitheater. It is all on one campus um situated near center and university.

[3:13] This is kind of an overview of that. Also gives an overview of the timeline.

[3:17] So we did put out a request for proposals um back in February. uh we've

[3:22] worked through that over this last uh over the spring and into into summer.

[3:26] Now we had the top two proposals come in and give presentations to staff so we

[3:30] could ask them questions about their management style and how this particular

[3:33] type of partnership works. Um we are here now proposing to enter into a

[3:38] contract with Legends Global who was the the top proposal.

[3:43] Why are we why are we going into this? This is a public private partnership and

[3:47] I want to explain that a little bit in the fact that the city will still retain

[3:51] the ownership of all of the facilities. Um we still fund the operations of this.

[3:57] So this part of it doesn't change. The part of it is coming in with a partner

[4:01] who has industry specialty and expertise to come in and do the actual management.

[4:05] Um that management doesn't mean just the daily management but also where we have

[4:09] access to now their network. So they're an international company. um they have

[4:13] access to acts and other other entities and um contracts and so forth and so

[4:18] that can really bring that to it. They'd be coming in with strategic management.

[4:22] Where do we want to go with this campus? Where do we want to go with these

[4:24] facilities? Um they would take over the daily operations of it, meaning it would

[4:28] be their employees [clears throat] who actually work on this site. They would

[4:31] be responsible for the marketing and advertising um for any type of sales,

[4:35] ticketing, rentals, um everything that we currently do today. And then we all

[4:40] they also bring with them um because CSL is an affiliate organization with

[4:44] Legends Global, they bring that expertise that we already tapped into

[4:48] last year, which is what do we need to modernize, what do we need to monetize,

[4:52] um what type of capital improvements would we need to make, how do we really

[4:56] put a a strategic plan around this particular campus and what we want to

[5:00] see out of it for our downtown and for our residents.

[5:04] This is just gives you an overview and I apologize this should be intent of

[5:08] management contract not contracted. Um but these just gives you a highle view

[5:13] of what we requested as part of our of the proposals we were looking for and

[5:17] what we were judging the proposals on. Could they develop and deliver these

[5:22] particular things? We want to continue to hive have and elevate um the quality

[5:26] of experiences and the event management we have there. We want to maximize that

[5:31] utilization. how how can we best maximize that? Are there capital

[5:35] improvements that we can make that would allow us to extend our season for

[5:38] example at the amphitheater uh when we know that it gets pretty hot in the in

[5:41] the summer. Um what is the economic impact? How can we use this campus to

[5:46] drive people into our downtown? How do we get them here and then get them into

[5:50] our onto our main street and into our our shops and our hotels?

[5:54] Also, how do we boost our our effectiveness with all of the other

[5:57] partners that we already have here in downtown? that includes the visit Mesa,

[6:01] downtown Mesa Association and the local hotels that we have here

[6:06] and how do we pull that together and also integrating as we continue to work

[6:09] on our downtown arts and innovation district. How do we amplify that? Um,

[6:14] and so that we're all working together. So, those were the things that we asked

[6:17] for when we went out for proposals is how could you help us with this?

[6:23] » Uh, yeah. Yeah, please. >> On that slide, um, this is for fun. Is

[6:29] that the Weezer concert? [laughter] >> I'm pretty sure it is. I just want

[6:33] everyone know exactly which concert. >> I went to that concert and it was

[6:37] awesome. >> Berg has confirmed it is it is Weezer.

[6:41] So >> good. Vice Council member Taylor, you

[6:44] have very good eyes. If [laughter] you can see who's on stage there. Um

[6:49] [clears throat] >> it was awesome. It was like Christmas

[6:51] Weezer. Who says no to that? So anyway, [laughter]

[6:53] just wanted to throw that out there. >> And I'm glad you enjoyed that.

[6:58] I know. >> As we move forward, one of the things as

[7:02] we really kind of talk about what does this partnership look like and what does

[7:05] this partnership mean? Um, again, the city of Mesa continues to hold the

[7:10] ownership of the campus. So, it is our campus, it is our facilities. We will

[7:14] also continue to fund the operations. So, this is not like so it's not similar

[7:20] to the golf course when we did that where they actually run the entire golf

[7:24] course for us. Um but it's their operation that they're running. This is

[7:28] still our operation. They are running it on our behalf. What that means is that

[7:32] we are still funding the daily operations for everything that happens

[7:36] on the campus. So that part doesn't change. So when we talk about the cost

[7:40] cost to the city or cost to the contractor, I want to be very clear that

[7:45] um the cost of running of actually operating the operating expenses will

[7:49] still be funded by the city of Mesa. Um and they will be doing it on our behalf.

[7:55] So, what are the actual costs um out the door costs? The city cost to Legends

[7:59] Global um as an entity is a monthly base fee for a monthly management fee of

[8:04] $14,000 a month. Um they will also receive um on food and beverage 4% on

[8:10] the gross sales and 8% on the net sales. There is an annual performance

[8:15] incentive. So, each year there will be performance measures that will uh

[8:19] benchmarks and targets that will be set um with both entities. And at each year

[8:24] we'll review those to see if they've met those and there's a um incentive fee of

[8:27] up to $50,000. It is based on each benchmark. There's an annual

[8:32] quantitative incentive fee. And what that is is in our adjusted gross income

[8:36] each year, um Legends Global will put together a budget and targets that they

[8:41] will give to us. We'll review them. We need to approve them. So it'll be

[8:45] between the city of Mesa and Legends Global what our targets are for next

[8:49] year, what we hope to accomplish. um if they accomplish those that does not go

[8:53] into this incentive fee. It's only if they go above and beyond those then they

[8:56] would receive 20% of the AGI over whatever benchmark we had set for that

[9:00] year. And then for sponsorship commissions, which is this is an

[9:04] industry standard um as they go out and receive um advertising sponsorships for

[9:09] particular things could be possibly be naming rights um they would receive a

[9:13] 20% in essence finders fee or commission on those.

[9:19] Um, Legends Global has agreed to um help us and and contribute to the capital

[9:25] portion of this by doing a one front a onetime upfront payment of $500,000 that

[9:30] would go towards some type of improvement on the campus. Those are to

[9:34] be determined as we go through and start talking about what is the priority for

[9:38] us. um what is the the thing we can do right out of the gate um that could help

[9:42] us increase our revenues or increase our number of shows while we continue to

[9:46] work on larger plans of the campus what it would look like and maybe a larger

[9:51] capital improvement. These would be things we could do within the next year.

[9:56] Um they've also they they are all about community. So they would like to um

[10:01] contribute $10,000 a year for the five years of the term toward a not

[10:05] for-profit or a community based organization of the city's choice. And

[10:08] so that'll be something we would talk about as we move forward where we would

[10:11] like those funds to go. They will also be covering the transition cost of

[10:16] actually setting this up. So the way this is organized is there's actually a

[10:20] two-month transition period where they need to set up all of the infrastructure

[10:24] in order to take on this management and they would be covering those costs. It

[10:27] would be no cost to the city for that setup.

[10:33] Um at this time I'm going to hand it over to Harry so he can talk a little

[10:35] bit. you can get to know Legends Global a little bit more.

[10:38] » So, thank you, Candace. First of all, let me start by saying thank you for the

[10:41] invitation to be here today. Um, very much appreciated. This is a partnership

[10:45] we are very excited about. We're ready to get going. Um, and again, so thank

[10:50] you for this opportunity and uh we know it's going to be successful for all

[10:54] parties moving forward. Um, you've got on your screen there just a quick

[10:58] overview of Legends Global. Uh we are a worldwide industryleading company that

[11:04] specializes in much more than just venue management and content and booking. We

[11:08] provide all of those specialized services a 360 degree suite of services

[11:12] that you see there on the right hand side. Tyler who will speak here in a

[11:15] minute represents feasibility and consulting with our with CSL our

[11:19] affiliate. We provide owners rep um services for uh and project management

[11:24] services for renovations, expansions, new construction. Um premium sales more

[11:29] so on the arena stadium side in terms of your your VIP spaces um your suites,

[11:33] your loies, your club seats. We have expertise in in those sales efforts. Um

[11:38] partnerships is as Candace just said, naming rights, sponsorship, advertising,

[11:42] entitlements. Uh we have a whole division on a worldwide scale that

[11:46] specializes in that area. Hospitality, which is food and beverage,

[11:49] which will be part of our scope here. Uh merchandise probably not so much, but we

[11:53] do have the the access to those individuals. We do merchandise for NFL

[11:58] teams, for the Olympics, for the RDER Cup. So again, worldwide experience with

[12:02] the sale of merchandise, both uh retail and and online. And then venue

[12:06] management and content booking are really the core services um that we're

[12:10] providing here for the Mesa Convention Center, the amphitheater. So what does

[12:13] this all mean for the city? It means access to um and the support of the

[12:18] resources and the expertise of all these divisions as we move ahead together um

[12:22] to grow these venues, to grow the city, and to grow the destination.

[12:28] Um just real quickly, uh drilling down on venue management, we manage 450

[12:31] venues worldwide. About 70% of those are North America. Uh we do have a fairly

[12:36] significant international footprint as well. Um the majority of our um uh

[12:42] venues that we manage are municipally owned. Um so we are in essence a

[12:46] government contractor. We understand the basic tenants of public administration

[12:51] and transparency and bidding requirements and all those things that

[12:54] are important to our municipal partners as you over oversee and manage these

[12:58] venues on behalf of the taxpayers. So that's our wheelhouse. We do manage some

[13:02] very large um a market uh venues, seven NFL stadiums, large convention centers.

[13:09] But if you look at our resume, we really specialize in smaller venues, whether

[13:13] it's convention centers, arenas, theaters, um equestrian centers, um

[13:18] conference centers, um whether they're in a secondary market, a tertiary

[13:22] market, or in a very crowded a market where Mesa sits here in in the Phoenix

[13:25] market. Um, and we've had tremendous uh success using our resources, our

[13:30] visibility, our branding, our best practices to elevate the operations of

[13:34] those venues. Um, and many of our clients have been with us for a long

[13:38] time. We've we've succeeded in achieving their goals. We've earned renewals and

[13:42] we're hopeful that'll be the path here with the city of Mesa moving forward.

[13:45] The other thing I'll say before we leave this page, Candace, this is kind of our

[13:48] wheel of resources. We have over 100 people um just in the venue management

[13:52] silo of our company that support the operations of our local staff here or

[13:56] will be supporting day in and day out um across all these disciplines and more

[14:00] all these departments. To me this is the real value of our company is um you know

[14:06] I've been doing this a long time. Brad's been doing this a long time but we don't

[14:09] know everything. And operating in this in this world this specialized world for

[14:14] almost 50 years. You live and learn trial and error. You take everything

[14:18] that we're learning every day and what we do is condense that and distill it

[14:22] down into usable programs and systems and best practices um to elevate the

[14:27] operations and the support for our local staff and achieving your goals. That is

[14:31] the real power of our company is that shared worldwide experience from doing

[14:34] this for for many many years. And on the local level, while we are a

[14:40] large international company, we have a presence here in the market already. Um

[14:45] um I'm sure you're all familiar with State Farm Stadium, Desert Diamond

[14:48] Arena. We also have some food and beverage operations um in the market. We

[14:52] run the the uh the food and beverage at Talking Stick, the amphitheater uh for

[14:57] Live Nation. So um so we're coming into this engagement with the Mesa Convention

[15:03] Center and the amphitheater in the city which is a perfect complimentary venue

[15:07] to uh the footprint we already have in the market. Existing relationships and

[15:12] understanding of the market, community relationships, business relationships,

[15:16] um operators and programmers that sit in this market that know it very well. Um

[15:20] again to support our operations here, no learning curve. Um and we're ready to

[15:24] hit the ground running. I'll turn it over to Tyler.

[15:36] » Great. Well, excited to be back here. Um, excited to remain a part of the

[15:40] planning of of these facilities, the convention center and amphitheater. Um,

[15:44] some of you may remember me probably from a year and a half ago as we

[15:47] concluded our feasibility study. Um, fortunate timing from the CSL side, our

[15:52] organization became uh uh joined with the former ASM uh organization. We are

[15:58] now Legends Global. We are now the global planning arm for Legends Global.

[16:03] And the great news here is we have a wealth of data and research that we

[16:07] conducted over the course of the second half of 2024, first half of 2025,

[16:12] looking at the opportunities for the convention center and amphitheater to

[16:15] increase business, to increase economic impact. um both in terms of of what can

[16:21] we do capital investment wise, but there's also opportunities to think

[16:24] strategically about those buildings and diversify and increase the programming

[16:28] that that go to those facilities. This is a recap of the work that we did um

[16:32] looking at your building versus the 50 potentially competitive facilities

[16:36] throughout the valley. Uh benchmarking you against similar facilities around

[16:39] the nation. We also collected input from 65 event planners representing more than

[16:44] 300 events. we have the real world data uh about what we could do here from a

[16:48] marketing standpoint, from a scheduling standpoint and capital investment

[16:51] standpoint uh to help guide the future of of this facility and downtown Mesa.

[16:57] Um on the next slide is just a quick recap of what we saw as as as key

[17:01] opportunities and issues for the the convention center. Um there has been

[17:05] increased convention activity and meetings activity certainly following

[17:08] the COVID pandemic in in the valley area and at the same time we're dealing with

[17:12] a very competitive field of hotel conference centers, various ballrooms

[17:16] that are that are around the the area. This is a building that has been used

[17:20] for local shows, public consumer shows, and but has increased conventions uh in

[17:25] recent years. How do we build on that momentum? not necessarily by uh trying

[17:29] to be the next Phoenix Convention Center and and greatly expand our footprint,

[17:32] but by differentiating and by thinking strategically of what types of groups

[17:36] and meetings could fit here. And then over time thinking, okay, what can we do

[17:41] uh uh uh from a physical investment standpoint to increase that business and

[17:44] support that growth because I think there's an exciting opportunity for this

[17:48] building and the amphitheater to be a big part of a really exciting future for

[17:52] downtown. We certainly talked about that in the report last year. Um similar for

[17:56] the amphitheater. Um I think what what Legends uh brings to the table is is the

[18:01] network um relationships not just with Live Nation but a number of promoters

[18:06] nationally and regionally uh to help bring a diverse set of programming to

[18:10] this building. They also bring a lot of creative thinking and ideas for how can

[18:14] we use the amphitheater, not just for concerts and performances, but in unison

[18:18] with the convention center. So, I think there's synergies that we're we're going

[18:21] to work together to to identify to to greatly maximize the use of that

[18:25] building and again think of the future um over the next 5 10 years. How can we

[18:30] improve the experience of that not just for attendees but for the artists and

[18:34] make sure that we're we're growing our calendar of events that that are going

[18:37] to the facility. um CSL, you know, our our role here is

[18:42] is to continue uh uh to look at the future of these facilities to advise the

[18:47] legends team and provide real market data. You know, that's what really sets

[18:51] this relationship apart in in this world of live sports and meetings and

[18:55] conferences and entertainment. We're here to actually give them the voice of

[18:58] the consumer. We're here to give them data on competitive venues. And we're

[19:02] here to think strategically about from an economic and financial perspective

[19:07] what are the the wisest moves we can make with both of these facilities over

[19:10] time. Over on the right are just some of the trends we identified in the report

[19:14] last year. But immersive experiences, technology, local and authentic food and

[19:18] beverage. also looking at the amphitheater and thinking of when from

[19:22] when you get there to when you leave, you know, engaging the the attendee and

[19:25] and giving them the best experience possible and creating as many

[19:28] opportunities for for revenue generation as possible for for major concert

[19:32] concerts that are going there. So, we we are here to be an ongoing adviser. um

[19:37] look forward to to working with you all in the future and working with Harry and

[19:41] the team um to help think uh uh not just of of near-term planning and

[19:45] strategizing in these venues, but starting to think also, okay, what's a

[19:49] schedule of of projects we can think about over the next five years and what

[19:52] gives us the greatest return. So, very excited to continue to be here. Um and

[19:58] uh I think I'll pass it back to Candace.

[20:03] » Facility improvement planning. you sorry >> uh facility improvement planning um um

[20:08] you heard Tyler talk about that a little bit those are that that's the expertise

[20:11] that they bring right is what is it that we can monetize what is the best effort

[20:16] that we can put forward in the next year two years five years um in order to

[20:20] really um elevate that entire campus and so we'll be working together all three

[20:25] you know two entities but CSL is is part of legends global now as we really go

[20:30] through those so they will be providing that expertise to us similar to what

[20:33] they did with the feasibility study taking it to that next level, that next

[20:36] step. Um what is the first priority, the second priority, and what is it we're

[20:40] actually trying to drive to? Um and how do we implement that over this time?

[20:45] Um the transition itself. So the transition the the contract we have

[20:50] proposal for you is a 62-month initial term. The reason why it's 62 is so that

[20:54] there's a full 5-year management period um following the two-month transition

[20:59] period. Um, so transition period right now we are looking for a September 1st

[21:03] start to the transition period and a November 1st start to the actual

[21:08] management. That's when they would then be the on-site managers effective on

[21:12] November 1st. Um, there are three uh five-year renewal administrative

[21:17] renewals that we could do for a total of 20 years on this and it would go through

[21:22] our normal administrative processes for that. Some of the things that we do want

[21:26] to talk about is that um there have been questions about our staff and the

[21:30] transition and how does that work because these will again these will be

[21:33] legends employees that will be on this campus. Um all of our employees have

[21:37] known this. We have been very transparent over the last year that this

[21:40] was a a direction we were going in. Um, and once we do have a signed contract,

[21:45] we'll be working with each employee to see if they would like to move over to

[21:49] the Legends Global team and continue on that site or if they would like to stay

[21:54] with the city of Mesa and we will assist them in finding another location within

[21:58] the city for them to work. So, it'll be an employee by employee basis. No

[22:02] employees will be laid off as part of this process. they will all have a home

[22:06] and it's up to them where that home is um on what side if they want to continue

[22:10] in that industry which we have some who are very industrydriven and this would

[22:13] be a great opportunity for them and there are others who are long-term

[22:16] employees and like to stay with the city of Mesa and we'll and we will make space

[22:19] for them as well so they will all be taken care of. Um there will be a

[22:23] general manager on site that would be our prime contact for the the city side.

[22:27] So we'll have a city contracts administrator that will be the contact

[22:31] on our side and the general manager will be the contact on their side. Uh we will

[22:36] continue to have access to all financials uh into the financial records

[22:40] as well as monthly reports, quarterly reports, uh projections, those types of

[22:44] things. So this is truly a partnership between the city of Mesa and Legends

[22:49] Global in their management of that. So we will be in every step. This isn't

[22:53] something that at the end of the year we find out how they did. Um, this is being

[22:58] with them at every step, knowing what's happening this month, what's in what's

[23:01] coming up in the next few months, how are bookings going, how are shows going,

[23:06] um, and those types of things, as well as the feedback that we have on, um,

[23:10] surveys, whether it's artist surveys or, um, customer surveys, those types of

[23:15] things. So, this is truly an integrated partnership u between the city of Mesa

[23:19] and Legends Global. And with that, I will

[23:24] » I think that was the smoothest presentation that has ever gotten

[23:27] through council. Well, >> however, I'm sure there are questions at

[23:33] this part. Mr. Adams, would you like to begin?

[23:36] » Well, thank you, Vice Mayor. Uh, thank you for that presentation. Um,

[23:41] I am I'm just curious about a couple things. Um, as as you have had a chance

[23:46] to look over our venue, what do you see as its limitations

[23:53] and in in comparison to uh venues in similar size cities and what are your

[24:01] plans to try to address those? I mean, I I won't repeat what we've heard from

[24:07] different sources as limitations, but I'd [clears throat] be curious to know

[24:11] how you see it. How do you think we move beyond those?

[24:16] How do we attract um maybe some more A-list acts, that type of thing? So,

[24:23] that's that's my my first question. And second part is um can you describe

[24:29] similar venues in other municipalities that you've stepped into and what have

[24:35] the result what have the challenges and the results been there?

[24:40] » Do you want to grab that? Mhm. >> Physical.

[24:43] » Let's go. >> From from you know the the facility

[24:48] standpoint and you know some things that put a ceiling I think on on potential

[24:53] for for the facilities. You know from the convention center side it it is it

[24:56] is dated. Um the hotel package could be grown. Um that's probably a longer term

[25:02] issue. um technology um and some of the services that certainly some of the

[25:08] corporate sector and and some higher value associations are looking for out

[25:12] of venues. We we don't have those currently. So that's certainly the

[25:15] something to look at over time. From the amphitheater standpoint, um we've talked

[25:19] about similar issues, things with the modern attendee experience, uh premium

[25:23] seating, more points of sale for food and beverage aren't aren't quite up to

[25:27] standard. Um maybe there's opportunities to expand capacity over time as well. Um

[25:32] it's a great unique boutique experience. I I love that that venue. Um but is

[25:37] there potential to slightly tweak it? Um you know to to maximize the value that

[25:41] that we get from the community. Um and then I think just thinking strategically

[25:47] and and you know just just even even looking at the calendar and maximizing

[25:51] the value of the events that we get with the facilities we have today. I think

[25:53] there's still potential uh uh you know to to grow the event calendar um even

[25:58] before we begin the physical planning. But I I'll let Harry speak to just

[26:01] similar venues that they've been a part of.

[26:05] » Yeah, just to piggyback first on on what Tyler said regarding the amphitheater.

[26:08] Um and and we al also had some recommendations for the convention

[26:11] center, but we certainly during the course of this RFP process, we we we

[26:16] shared some aspirational uh thoughts around um where these venues could go.

[26:21] Realize a lot needs to come together with the financing end and how that we

[26:24] all pull that together. But um again I mentioned we've got a a pretty good

[26:29] knowledge of this market and we we we drew upon that experience of operating

[26:33] the market to drive kind of our recommendation specific to the

[26:35] amphitheater. If we can get to the point where we can increase capacity, make an

[26:40] investment into that amphitheater both in the back of house and the front of

[26:43] house. increase the the the rigging capacities. U I think Tyler mentioned um

[26:48] the event experience, food and beverage, right? Points of sale, meeting and

[26:53] exceeding customers expectations in today's world. Um it's great to get the

[26:57] events, but then you want to maximize the experience as well as maximizing

[27:00] revenue with a commercial mindset. But um it's all about the event experience

[27:04] at the end of the day, right? Every event is an opportunity to to wow

[27:08] people, right? And create cheerleaders and ambassadors for the venues and for

[27:12] the city. you don't want to you don't want to people leaving with a terrible

[27:15] experience. So, it's managing every step in that process from the time they leave

[27:19] home to the time they get home and making sure that that experience um as I

[27:23] said creates those ambassadors for for the venues in the city. um in terms of

[27:28] maximizing I mean I I think of again we manage so many venues I think of Grand

[27:32] Rapids I think of Baton Rouge I think of Florence um Sagenol Michigan um theaters

[27:37] in in Ohio Toledo Ohio where operating at a significant deficit we've turned

[27:42] that turned those into profitable buildings or significantly decreased um

[27:46] the required subsidy each year um Tyler touched on a little bit which I didn't I

[27:51] don't didn't think we had time in this in this session but to drill too deep um

[27:55] But the shared data and analytics that we have as our company again pulling all

[27:59] that information together >> to inform our local staff to help them

[28:03] do the best deals right and doing the shows to help them advance the shows

[28:06] properly. Um if we know there's a tour that's played six other of our venues we

[28:10] have all that shared information from those events

[28:14] um what people like to eat, what people like to drink so we can plan effectively

[28:19] again maximize their experience and maximize revenue. So what we're doing in

[28:23] that world with a program we have workday and AI down the road and all of

[28:27] that technology and and shared data um um again drives that experience and

[28:33] drives more revenue um to the venue. But um you know we've grown to the size we

[28:38] have because we've achieved our municipal partners goals and that's

[28:41] that's financial and otherwise. Yes. the the mission and the goals for many of

[28:46] these venues the same bottom line performance economic impact right

[28:51] quality of life for residents attracting new residents bringing people downtown

[28:56] um as a complimentary venue to the other assets that's in the community all those

[29:00] things but they vary a little bit it's not cookie cutter every every city every

[29:03] state every county authority they have different goals working within those

[29:07] broader u set of of typical objectives and and missions so we customize to our

[29:13] individual municipal partners goals which we will

[29:15] do here um with a demonstrated track record and again I I go back to using

[29:20] the scale of the company and the experience and the data that we have and

[29:24] the information um but maximize the opportunities and the events when we get

[29:28] them also the marketing the branding the vis visibility in two separate

[29:33] industries the live entertainment industry and and the convention meeting

[29:36] hospitality industry uh which these venues play in and having those

[29:40] relationships on a national level on a regional level um and a comfort level

[29:44] for users um and and our partners that if they come to a a Legends Global

[29:48] Managed building, they're going to receive great service and u there's a

[29:52] level of expectation that they have comfort with.

[29:54] » Good. I appreciate that. Just one other quick question. How many outdoor venues

[29:59] similar to ours do [clears throat] you currently manage or operate?

[30:03] » We manage I think 20 some amphitheaters. >> Okay.

[30:07] » Um Council Member Adams. Um various sizes. We just opened uh the Aquaore

[30:12] Amphitheater in Grand Rapids. That's about 12,000 seats.

[30:16] » Okay. >> Um just a few months ago. Uh we managed

[30:21] down to boutique amphitheaters, 5,000 capacity, 7,000 seat capacity capacity

[30:26] in Raleigh, North Carolina and Kerry right outside of Raleigh. Uh 15,000 seat

[30:31] uh amphitheater in Syracuse, New York. Um so we have a a fairly significant

[30:35] footprint um in the amphitheater world. So I imagine you face the uh the

[30:40] opposite seasonal problem in Grand Rapids that we face here. So okay, good.

[30:44] Thank you so much. >> Yeah, thank you.

[30:45] » That actually works out because once they're done over there, they can come

[30:48] right over here and book. >> But I think ours is only 5,000

[30:54] » 5,000 capacity. So it's on the smaller end.

[30:58] » Council member Duff, I know you've been waiting. Thank you.

[31:00] » Yeah, I have quite a few questions. Um apologize for the long list. it took a

[31:06] little while for all the information to be uploaded.

[31:08] » [clears throat] >> Um so a couple of years ago we did a

[31:12] whole visioning of the convention center and look at at capital improvements and

[31:18] I think there was two or three selections depending on how much we want

[31:22] to invest and what the ROI is this related or is this a separate exercise

[31:28] or I mean it is that work related to the future of what Legends is working on.

[31:37] So, Vice Mayor and Council Member Duff, it is um it is related in the fact that

[31:41] this is the next step towards trying to achieve those goals, right? So, what we

[31:45] came to council with a year and a half ago was this is the feasibility of the

[31:49] the actual facilities themselves, like what would we need to do physically at

[31:54] the campus in order to elevate the n the artists, the the acts we get, the things

[31:59] that we book at the convention center, the food and beverage, that type of

[32:02] thing. So, that was a feasibility study and it left us with some really great

[32:05] ideas. Um and the next question is how do we fund those? How do we how do we

[32:11] invest? We know we want to invest in this campus. How do we go about doing

[32:14] that? So this is that next step of actually bringing in an international

[32:18] partner um in this industry who has done this before and can figure out how to

[32:24] elevate what we currently have and monetize it in a manner that allows us

[32:28] to invest then back in all of those revenues back in to larger capital

[32:33] improvements which then increases our revenues and allows us to invest again.

[32:37] So the goal of this is actually to monetize as much as we can as it sits

[32:41] today. Um doing some minor modifications as much as we can and then reinvesting

[32:47] and reinvesting so that we're constantly reinvesting back into the campus. It is

[32:52] it is investing the revenues from the campus back into the campus and not

[32:57] asking in the future for general funds in order to fund a capital improvement.

[33:02] The capital improvement would be funded by the revenues coming from the campus

[33:05] itself. So that is the goal. This is this is the step one into that

[33:09] [clears throat] goal which is to bring in a partner who has that expertise and

[33:12] that breadth of experience and resources that allows us to truly maximize what we

[33:18] can do on this campus. So this is really that it's this is that next step from

[33:21] that feasibility study. And and maybe I can just add, vice mayor and council

[33:26] member. Um that's why I'm so excited this morning because um I love seeing

[33:31] Tyler this morning in this perspective because now we have a path forward to

[33:35] actually make some of that those visions that um we had when you were presented

[33:40] uh their findings a year and a half ago an actual reality that's not going to

[33:45] burden our overall uh taxpayers. Because what what this partnership uh allows us

[33:51] to do is maximize revenue that's generated on site by bringing um more

[33:56] lucrative shows by by maximizing our return on investment uh that we make

[34:02] both in the amphitheater and the convention center to bring high value

[34:06] acts and bring highv value conventions and others that will uh further revenue

[34:11] that then we'll be able to invest back into the infrastructure and the capital

[34:16] side of this program. I mean, we sat here a year and a half ago with the

[34:20] vision of what it was going to take to uh modernize our facilities, but we had

[34:25] no path forward on how we were going to pay for for those as Candace just said.

[34:29] And so, this partnership because of what um Legends Global brings to the table

[34:34] will allow us to maximize revenue at these centers that can be reinvested

[34:38] back in them. So the users will be paying for the capital improvements of

[34:42] these facilities and not shifting the burden onto any of the general city

[34:46] taxpayers. And that is uh a fantastic development that we could not have

[34:52] foreseen if we had stayed with the status quo. And uh and we we have

[34:56] excellent staff. U to Harry's point about um other venues that might have

[35:01] been operating in the red, we're we're fortunate um and and maybe unique in

[35:05] some ways that we we paid for ourselves. We were break even, but we weren't

[35:10] maximizing the opportunities. Uh, and it wasn't for lack of great staff. It's

[35:15] we're not part of the network that Harry just described. If you're a convention

[35:19] planner, um, you're taking the path of least resistance. You're not reaching

[35:23] out to independent venues to schedule your conventions. You're calling Legends

[35:27] Global because you have a relationship with them and you're saying, "I want to

[35:30] schedule my next four years. I want to be in the Northeast. I want to be in the

[35:33] Pacific Northwest, in Florida, and then in in the Southwest."

[35:37] Where where are you going to put me, Legends Global? Where where are your

[35:40] venues? What makes sense for my um for my um conference or or my uh touring

[35:47] artist or whatever it may be? That's just access and opportunity that we

[35:51] haven't had. and that these uh industry experts know how to maximize, know how

[35:58] to bring in that high value um into both the amphitheater and the convention

[36:03] center, which will then allow us to invest back into um into those

[36:08] facilities so that we can continue to um to elevate it um to to a modern facility

[36:15] to uh a high value facility like the amphitheater to bring in uh those

[36:19] experiences like Harry um had described earlier.

[36:23] with um all the modern amenities and high value FnB and other uh

[36:29] opportunities that just reflect the reality of the market today and that um

[36:35] we we current we currently can't provide without substantially burdening the

[36:40] taxpayers um in a way that I I know brought a lot of hesitation to probably

[36:45] all of us and so uh this partnership will give us a path forward and that's

[36:50] one of the reasons I'm I'm so excited about because it was a daunting prospect

[36:53] of how are we going to get there. So we had to change the model. We had to do

[36:57] something uh different to maximize private sector expertise and investment

[37:01] and so that's why this partnership is is a real I mean it's a it's a big deal.

[37:05] This is a real gamecher uh and will have a ripple effect. I I appreciate that the

[37:10] Delta uh hotel is here because again we're um this this will have a ripple

[37:15] effect into what we're seeing in downtown throughout the hospitality side

[37:19] of things. I know you've received a letter from Visit Mesa um with their

[37:23] support. Um you know, the mayor I think I think the mayor left something with

[37:27] the vice vice mayor uh to express his support, but the mayor's been a big big

[37:32] champion of this because again, if we were going to change the status quo, if

[37:36] we were if we were going to find funding, we had to go out and and

[37:41] harness the private sector opportunities of partnership. And that's what um the

[37:45] Legends Global team um brings to the table. That's why it's a big deal.

[37:50] » Yeah, I appreciate that and I'm very excited about it. But I'm still trying

[37:53] to pull everything together because we've been on this road for quite a

[37:57] while. I was trying to decide what we're going to do with the convention center

[38:00] and I didn't know if Legends was involved at that time. Sounds like it

[38:02] was a separate feasibility study which led us to Legends. We're no longer

[38:07] looking at a bond opportunity in order to do improvements. But I do say and

[38:12] you're you're experienced at this. It's kind of a chicken and egg thing, right?

[38:16] In order for you to get the revenue that you need to to improve the building, you

[38:21] have to have investment. But you can't get the investment until you, you know,

[38:25] until you do the improve. I'll leave that to you. Um, it's kind kind of

[38:30] tricky. Um, are we expecting any revenue from this at from to the city or this is

[38:39] » I imagine there's so much investment that needs to go on from the feasibility

[38:43] study that we saw. identified like at the bottom level is like $30 million. Um

[38:49] so are we paying for you said operations I don't know what that is and then do we

[38:57] expect revenues? >> So vice mayor and council member Jeff

[39:01] this is um so again they are operating on our behalf. So it is still city funds

[39:07] that are funding all of the operations. So anything operational on that campus

[39:12] is still a city funded operations. >> So we're see keeping all the revenue and

[39:16] city >> keeping all the revenue. Right.

[39:17] » And then the commission base and all that. That's where you're right

[39:22] » getting your revenues. Okay. >> Correct. So Legends Global would receive

[39:25] exactly what was on that list. Anything above and beyond that are everything is

[39:29] city revenues. The only thing that comes out of those city revenues are exactly

[39:33] what's on that list based on formulas. >> Okay. Then looking at the way we

[39:38] envisioned [clears throat] our arts and innovation district is a lot of

[39:42] development over property that is around the convention center on the convention

[39:46] center especially a lot of parking lots maybe could be built over or anyway we

[39:52] need to do some visioning on that. Is there anything that prohibits us from

[39:57] you know development? We wanted to do the lightw walk and have development

[40:00] vertically along that up to the convention center making that connection

[40:03] from the convention center to downtown to activate our downtown from the

[40:08] convention center. Is there >> So we're still on the grounds. We have

[40:14] » vice council member de we the ownership doesn't change. Um all of the plans that

[40:19] we've done with the the future lightwalk and the partnerships with ASU and the

[40:24] rebuilding of that kind of post office area, the Serin House improvements that

[40:27] we're going to do, the natural history museum which is downtown. Anything that

[40:31] we do at the MAC, all of that stays the same. So all of the planning that we're

[40:35] putting in um with Jack Mufay's team and and JDonnell's team about how to really

[40:40] lift and boost the downtown, all of that is still in play. All of that is still

[40:45] continuing. This actually elevates um by bringing another another team to the to

[40:50] the to the group, right? And another set of expertise about what we could we

[40:55] could do on campus. How does that fit into the lightwalk? How do we make that

[40:59] connection between because that's what the lightwalk is for, right? is to make

[41:02] that connection between the convention center and Main Street because we want

[41:05] people who come to a concert, we don't want them to get back in their car. We

[41:09] want them to go to Main Street, right, and continue their festivities for that

[41:13] day and then um and then leave the downtown, right? We want people to come

[41:17] early and we want people to stay late. And so this all um all of this still

[41:22] continues. What this does is bring expertise to the table for this

[41:25] particular campus. >> Yeah. And we have on the campus of the

[41:29] convention center, we like I said, we have a lot of land that's not really

[41:33] producing anything and reworking that. We still have that opportunity within

[41:37] the campus of the convention center to continue that vision of utilizing the

[41:42] property. Okay. Um we have um existing contracts especially

[41:50] with Mesa AMP and stuff like that. Does that all terminate or do you work with

[41:55] like I know Danny Leco? >> No. So yeah, Vice Mayor and Council

[41:58] Member Duff, all contracts um will continue. So this is a seamless

[42:02] transition at the end of the day. Um we hope that our customers um just have a

[42:08] seamless transition with us as we work through the next two months in that

[42:11] transition period. Those are all the things that would be um identified. Yes,

[42:15] this is an industry that books out one, two, or sometimes three years ahead

[42:18] depending on how large um either the concert or the convention is. And so

[42:23] those would just be seamless transitions. The contracts would remain

[42:26] in place. Any contract signed on behalf of the city of Mesa is still in place

[42:29] when Legends Global comes in to manage that particular contract.

[42:33] » Um there may be some uh different subcontractors, those types of things.

[42:37] So they will have people who have contracted with us for a convention,

[42:41] let's say for next year. um they would now have um access to the new food and

[42:46] beverage um selections that they could work from, but the contract itself would

[42:51] remain in place. >> Food and beverage. Yeah, we need to work

[42:53] on that, especially when it comes to the Mesa AMP. And I I love that you had the

[42:57] elevated food concepts there. and like to encourage

[43:02] where appropriate using some of our local restaurants and beverage providers

[43:07] that are you know especially in the beverages they make their own products

[43:12] and stuff like that and do distribution to grocery stores they have the capacity

[43:15] to um sell and it keeps it unique kind of like airports right you go to

[43:20] airports and it's boring now if you go to an airport and they have the standard

[43:24] whatever you know you want to see some local fair

[43:27] » I um Vice Mayor, Council Member Duff, um that is foundational to how we operate

[43:33] our food and beverage operations. um incorporating technology, speed of sale,

[43:38] proper points of sale, graband go, all those things, elevated VIP club

[43:43] experiences, premium experiences, but um foundational is the use of local

[43:47] products, local vendors, local brands, local suppliers, giving local community

[43:52] businesses and entrepreneurs an opportunity um to elevate their

[43:55] operations, turn jobs into careers, right? And providing them an opportunity

[44:00] that that's central to how we operate municipally owned buildings. I mean that

[44:03] to me that's a core mission is providing opportunities for local businesses and

[44:08] from an event experience standpoint I think whether it's a convention a

[44:11] meeting a concert um the locals are are they go to a show they want to

[44:18] experience brands and products that they're familiar with that they're

[44:20] comfortable with it's a feeling of this is our venue right a sense of equity in

[44:24] that venue and people coming from out of town and visitors um they want to

[44:28] experience Mesa right they want to experience local products and brands and

[44:32] um as part of the food and beverage operation which is central to the event

[44:35] experience as we all know um and revenue generation. I mean that is that is core

[44:40] to to the success of any any venue. >> I appreciate that. It helps our

[44:45] businesses and our community by keeping those dollars invested locally, but it

[44:49] really helps us brand downtown as well as being that uniquely local experience

[44:55] by having it extended into the auxiliary um building so we have more of a

[45:00] presence. So, thank you for for that. Um,

[45:05] I just wanted to um put in there the arts and innovation

[45:11] district. Of course, we're working with ASU and the creative technologies

[45:16] and um you know, augmented reality, virtual reality,

[45:21] filming, gaming, all these kinds of things. And I I saw in your

[45:25] presentation, which I like very much, is being able to do hybrid events as well

[45:30] as immersive events. And um I think that could really put us on the map for our

[45:36] convention center is being highly specialized to being able to do that,

[45:40] especially when we have so much talent that we'll even more with more ASU

[45:45] schools here. um being able to integrate and be have that identity do for the

[45:51] arts and innovation district, being part of that, having that unique um venue

[45:57] that can do a gaming thing or things like that that really are kind of new in

[46:03] the space. And it helps us again with our identity and what we're trying to do

[46:07] in the economic development um the job creation side of it for the downtown

[46:13] area. Um, oh, and we're doing a a music scene and trying to get that going in

[46:20] downtown. I'm sure you've met with DMA. And so, again, that's an extension of

[46:24] it. Now, um, we do use the convention center for city events, whether the

[46:32] grounds um, events and community events, United Food Bank, we usually do our

[46:36] turkey drives or whatever, those kind of things. Are we looking at continuing

[46:41] that? Do we have access and rights to >> working through those? Because it is

[46:47] kind of a >> vice mayor and council member Duff. We

[46:49] actually have highlighted um as we go through the contract, we've proposed

[46:53] specific events that will continue um whether they're date specific like

[46:57] Celebrate Freedom, which is state specific, or if they're um dates that we

[47:01] can work in conjunction with Legends Global to find the right date, which is

[47:04] what we do with our our convention center staff today, is looking for

[47:08] whether they're revenue options versus an event that we need to do. we have

[47:11] highlighted the United Food Bank uh food distribution, those two particular um

[47:16] uses of the parking lot on those days. So, there's those particular state of

[47:20] the city um um those types of things that we do on an annual basis. Um and

[47:25] also our departments use um a lot of the rooms and so forth for events or

[47:30] meetings and so we would continue with a fee structure for our department city

[47:35] use separate from the commercial use. >> Okay. Okay. um you've touched upon it

[47:41] but you know do you have a vision over all of the evolving you know what that

[47:46] is you've t we've talked a lot about what's wrong with it not I'm not saying

[47:50] through you but over the years we've like realized we have some things that

[47:55] need to be remedied um but as you look forward and with your experience and

[48:00] knowledge working nationally with so many venues do you what's your vision of

[48:04] how this can fit into the national offerings and how we could stand out

[48:12] uniquely. >> Yeah. Um, Vice Mayor, Council Member

[48:16] Duff, I I the vision is this is an asset. It's a centerpiece asset for the

[48:22] community, right? Um, and in many way, shapes, and forms, right? It's um you

[48:29] obviously there's the financial end of it that's driving the e economic impact,

[48:32] but in many respects these venues help shape or detract from the image of a

[48:37] downtown, right? And we've seen that if they're well booked, if the service is

[48:41] good, um they are ingrained as part of the community, it elevates, it lifts all

[48:46] boats. Um if the event schedule is down, right, the facilities are not taken care

[48:50] of, uh they're in poor condition, it just not only detracts from that

[48:54] individual um operation and venue, but it reflects

[48:59] on the whole city. So um they're centerpiece assets, right? They they

[49:03] impact the brand, the image of the city as well as financially. So in my mind

[49:08] it's um establishing venues that are um setting the trends or ahead of the

[49:15] trends of what's going out there um in going on out there in the industry. Uh

[49:19] which we feel we are we have our finger on the pulse of and in many cases we're

[49:23] actually setting those trends. Um again two separate industries. Um but the

[49:28] bottom line is um having a venue and having it operated in a way that it is a

[49:34] complimentary centerpiece asset to all of all the assets and all the new stuff

[49:38] and improvements and investment and technology that's going on in the city

[49:41] of Mesa so that it's complimentary. It lifts all boats and we're all working

[49:45] together to do that. Um you know and it comes down to collaboration it comes

[49:49] down to knowledge. comes down to um again bringing that that experience from

[49:53] a worldwide scale of managing v many venues just like this driving people

[49:58] downtown keeping people here as Candace I think mentioned for two or three days

[50:02] not just coming to a show and leaving but can we give them um a destination

[50:07] experience that is enjoyable that's going to bring them back that's going to

[50:11] spread positive word of mouth um and that that's goes beyond as I think we've

[50:16] touched on today just the venues the district around that the opportunities,

[50:20] the attractions, the safety, the security um um you know, the traffic

[50:26] flow, pedestrian and vehicular, does it all make sense? Is it all coordinated?

[50:30] Um to provide the best experience, right? And it's all about, as I said,

[50:35] it's all about lifting all boats and working with stakeholders to to elevate

[50:39] the entire destination of which these are centerpiece assets for the

[50:42] destination. >> And yeah, I'll I'll add to that a little

[50:46] bit. Um, just kind of uh adding to a lot of the points Harry made. Um, I think

[50:53] we're we're at at a time in both the live entertainment and convention

[50:56] industry where planners, promoters, attendees, they're looking for something

[50:59] more unique, more authentic. We know there's certain lines of businesses and

[51:03] in certain cities we're not going to compete with in terms of size, but we

[51:06] can very much differentiate in terms of experience, technology. um throughout

[51:10] the the uh report writing process. I mean, I was really excited, genuinely

[51:14] excited for for the f future of downtown Mesa. So, there's paths we could go um

[51:18] in in terms of planning this this downtown, certainly for a city that

[51:21] continues to grow and the convention center and amphitheater could and should

[51:24] be a major anchor to to what does happen here. So aligning with uh these goals

[51:30] regarding technology um the the the lightwalk and and various public

[51:34] improvements we want to make throughout downtown. Also aligning with economic

[51:37] development and going after highv value tech and other industries that can come

[51:42] to town. This can be the welcome mat, the showroom for those various

[51:45] industries. We're not going after 10,000 attendee conventions. We're going after

[51:49] meetings, gatherings, conferences, and certainly leveraging what Arizona State

[51:53] has here and other labor that we have here that's in the world of immersive

[51:56] experiences, which I think we're just, you know, starting to get past the tip

[52:00] of the iceberg about opportunities for there. Um, we're excited for that and

[52:04] it's a moving target. You know, I we made that report last year and we can't

[52:07] fully predict what this facility could and should look like 10 years from now,

[52:10] right? But that's why we're excited to be part of the team uh to provide just

[52:14] data for decision-m on an ongoing basis as we plan this out in phases over the

[52:18] coming years. >> Well, I I appreciate your expertise. I

[52:22] look forward to working with you and also continuing the engagement with the

[52:28] entities in in the surrounding area with economic development. I could see this,

[52:33] you know, having a great convention center in that museum being a cat

[52:37] catalyst along with the ASU schools for the economic development and job

[52:43] creation that we want to do um along the lightwalk and have, you know, um those

[52:50] opportunities. We have a great downtown, but we need the jobs. We need the

[52:54] professional jobs here, and that's what we're lacking. And that could really

[52:57] help. but working with economic development and visit Mesa, we want to

[53:00] be the destination and our downtown and ASU so that we holistically leverage all

[53:06] the assets that we're all bringing to the table to um make each partner

[53:12] better. So, thank you. >> Do we know off top of our heads how many

[53:18] days the convention center is booked for the amphitheater

[53:23] currently? >> I do. Uh, Vice Mayor, we have that data,

[53:27] but I don't have it in front of me, but we can provide that data to the council.

[53:31] We are we are heavily utilized, I will say, um, in that. And so, what we're

[53:36] really looking at is how to elevate what we're already doing. How do we get that

[53:40] next tier convention, the ones who stay for a few days, not just come in for the

[53:45] day and back out again? How do we get the people who travel for that artist,

[53:51] not across town, but across the state? um you know how do we do so it's really

[53:56] it's not necessarily a utilization it's the type of acts and the type of

[54:00] conventions that create the bed bed nights

[54:02] » yeah and you absolutely nailed where I was going with that because I was

[54:06] curious the second followup was going to be how many of those are multi-days as

[54:10] we want them staying at the delta so the delta could also continue to do the

[54:15] investments that they want to make >> right

[54:18] » to upscale this uh at the same time >> yeah and vice that's exactly what we're

[54:22] looking at and for. So, it's it's really never been a point of are we not

[54:26] utilizing the rooms? Are they not being booked? They are being booked. It's this

[54:30] it's not necessarily overnight stays. We're not. And that's what we're looking

[54:33] for is how do we encourage people to come to downtown for more than just the

[54:37] day, right? We want them to be here for the weekend or the week or um those

[54:41] types of things. >> And I appreciate the discussion of the

[54:44] Mesa Celebration of Freedom because that's going to continue to be a a

[54:48] marquee event for our community. Uh, I see Chief Camelly in the background and

[54:53] one of the events I was thinking about is the Arizona Fire School comes in and

[54:56] that's a multi-day event that utilizes that facility.

[55:01] Beverage sale should be interesting, Mary

[55:04] as they improve. And you had a comment, Mr. Butler.

[55:07] » Well, no, I mean, Vice Mayor, you you nailed it. It's again it's back to to

[55:12] high value utilization of the facility because because we we do as I stated

[55:18] earlier we start off at a better spot than a lot of smaller convention centers

[55:23] or maybe Harry could maybe tell me even larger convention centers that we don't

[55:27] have to subsidize these facilities. They break even. But so that's great. That's

[55:31] a good starting point. But the reality is it it wasn't those high value

[55:35] conferences and shows that generate room nights that that allowed people to stay.

[55:40] It it's great that we can book the venue and um people would get in their car in

[55:45] their morning in Glendel and drive to Mesa and be at a conference for four or

[55:50] five hours and then get back into their car and drive back to Glendel all

[55:54] without frequenting a downtown restaurant, without putting a head in

[55:58] bed at the Delta. Um so those were just opportunities that we know with this

[56:04] partnership we'll be able to maximize for high value um opportunities that can

[56:10] generate that revenue and have that ripple effect not just through the the

[56:14] revenue that the facility brings in but what that means for restaurants and

[56:17] hospitality and and businesses in downtown Mesa. I mean, we've we've all

[56:22] been to conferences, overnight conferences, and you know that impact

[56:25] that it has when people are going out at night and going to the restaurants and

[56:29] and getting up in the morning and going to the coffee shops and and and having

[56:33] those type of experiences. And so, that's what we um hope to generate

[56:37] through through this partnership. Well, not only that, I think about how many

[56:41] conferences we go to and by the time we're starting to wind down, the next

[56:44] one is starting to wind up and and it's just an exchange. And that's the kind of

[56:49] thing that we want to see is just one right into the other.

[56:52] » Um, where do we see our naming rights? At what point we might be be able to

[56:57] generate some revenue from naming rights? I'm Arizona Financial Theater,

[57:02] Desert Diamond Arena, State Farm. Um, Tempe Stadium is apparently sponsored by

[57:08] the devil. [laughter]

[57:12] » Maybe not that one, but >> Well, you know, depends on the check.

[57:16] Depress on the check. Well, I don't know. The White Socks did the Pope thing

[57:19] the other day. That might be closer to our kind of flavor around here.

[57:24] » Um, Vice Mayor, we will be um we will be looking into those types of of things.

[57:28] All sponsorships to me are on the table. Um, there are certain ones that would

[57:31] come back if it's name, not the devil. Um, but um unless it's the Sunundevil.

[57:36] Um, but it's uh naming rights, those types of things would come back to

[57:40] council. Something of that magnitude. any type of a naming rights. We already

[57:43] have a policy in place for any naming rights would come back to council for

[57:46] approval. Um but we'll be pursuing those as well as just general sponsorships and

[57:51] advertising and things. How can we monetize the campus?

[57:54] » All right. That's good to hear it come back. There are a few I think that we

[57:58] would probably want to shy away from. I've never

[58:00] » Sure. We we would obviously be very cognizant of a public venue and and um

[58:05] wouldn't just Yeah, that would that would be forefront of our thinking and

[58:09] partnership. And I know Legends Global is very uh in any market that they're in

[58:14] dealing with a public private partnership. They're everyone would be

[58:17] cognizant >> and I I think the mayor is going to very

[58:20] much appreciate how many times he's heard elevate in this conversation. So

[58:23] » maximize >> and maximize well it's mostly elevate

[58:26] me. So fantastic questions from my left side. No pressure on the right side, but

[58:33] that's where we're going to head with >> I don't think there's anything left.

[58:37] [laughter] >> It was well done. Um really and truly

[58:40] they you know Council Member Duff and Adams covered most of my questions but I

[58:46] just do have a couple comments which you know I appreciate that we've set the

[58:50] stage here on um telling us where we are right now. I I didn't remember that we

[58:56] break even. So, I'm glad that you mentioned that, Scott, and that the what

[59:00] the point and the goal and objective of this is for, which is to

[59:06] capture more of that economic value around downtown Mesa from the events at

[59:11] the convention center and amphitheater as well as generate revenue to reinvest

[59:17] in improving those facilities because I think to go out and to ask folks um to

[59:23] pay for that is is a lot there's a lot more risk and in this way. We we sort of

[59:29] uh we prove that um we we do a test case and we prove that that it's necessary.

[59:34] And I think people are are a little bit more um apt to buy in and support um a

[59:41] capital improvement um program later on when we've shown um the increase in

[59:47] improvement that we can make by using what we have now. And I think that

[59:51] that's fantastic. I think we'll be able to do that with your expertise and your

[59:54] network is to improve upon what we already have uh and then build on that

[59:59] with uh adding funding investment in at a later date.

[1:00:03] » And and let me be clear, Vice Mayor and Council Member, I I do believe um and

[1:00:08] and we've you know, we've been working with with Legends on on this and and um

[1:00:13] Mr. Kennington and others. We um we believe again that the revenue generated

[1:00:19] on site will produce uh enough that's going to allow us to make those capital

[1:00:24] investments. And so when we talk about proving it up for um the rest of the

[1:00:29] community, we we want to take the burden off the rest of the community. We want

[1:00:34] this to be userdriven and and that's what this partnership will allow us to

[1:00:38] do. So I assume there's been discussions about what those targets are

[1:00:43] » over and I over the five years um of the contract the initial five years. Uh and

[1:00:50] » I I I don't I mean I see some some incentive in there but there's no quotas

[1:00:55] or anything like that. Do we have any we just have targets and we have some

[1:00:59] incentives. >> Is that correct?

[1:01:01] » We have Vice Mayor and Council Member Go forth. Those will be um negotiated each

[1:01:05] year when we put together the annual budget and annual plan. Okay.

[1:01:08] » And so part of the contract is that each annual plan is approved. They will they

[1:01:14] will propose one and we will have to approve it. So there'll be some

[1:01:17] negotiations on what our targets are for that year and the following year. So

[1:01:21] everything we set up is because we have already put together targets before the

[1:01:24] year begins. >> Okay.

[1:01:26] » And and this is you know Harry Harry's got a business to run, right? And I

[1:01:29] appreciate that we can build into this the opportunity that the more business

[1:01:34] that's brought and the higher value business and the more FNB sells, they're

[1:01:38] going to win and we're going to win. And that's that's what's great about this is

[1:01:42] that they have those connections and those relationships that can bring that

[1:01:46] in. And the the better they do, the better they'll do financially and the

[1:01:50] better we'll do financially. So it is it really is that that partnership

[1:01:54] incentive that um is is great about this relationship.

[1:01:59] » Yeah. I was a little surprised about the five years, but is that sort of

[1:02:02] standard? Is that you know that I'm not in this industry obviously, so maybe it

[1:02:07] is, but when I saw five years, I was just a little surprised at the length.

[1:02:11] » Um Vice Mayor, Council Member Goforth, um that is a fairly common term. Um

[1:02:17] without getting too much in in depth um you know tax code kind of plays a role

[1:02:23] in when a when a facility is um uh built or expanded renovated with taxfree

[1:02:30] bonds. There's certain regulations that come into play with regard to how deal

[1:02:33] structures um um can be put together in terms of term and calculations of

[1:02:39] incentives. So um this is somewhat of a traditional um uh deal structure. It's

[1:02:44] performance-based to Scott's point. 100% performance based. Yes, we get a base

[1:02:48] fee, but um we're incentivized to maximize quantity, quality, diversity of

[1:02:53] events in both venues. Um uh which if we're making more money than the city is

[1:02:59] much better off than we are. So um it aligns our goals, it aligns our

[1:03:03] interests. Um so again, this is a fairly common structure that we see with many

[1:03:07] of our municipal clients. Um, >> so um it's it's pedal to the ground

[1:03:13] every day to to maximize opportunities and to maximize revenue with a

[1:03:16] commercial mindset >> and and vice mayor um council member Go

[1:03:20] forth and and we also have to avoid the whiplash as as well. Obviously we are um

[1:03:26] we are working with our employees to um to relocate those employees whether they

[1:03:31] choose to continue in the hospitality industry or whether they um want to move

[1:03:36] to another position within the city. But this isn't something that can be done

[1:03:40] lightly, right? You can't stand up your own operations and then ratchet it down

[1:03:44] um you know overnight. And so that's why five-year terms really um reasonable.

[1:03:49] They they have to staff up. they have to make their assumptions of their ROI um

[1:03:54] on on a relationship like this and and smaller terms would be difficult for us

[1:03:59] and for them to really make pencil out and and practically be able to to ramp

[1:04:04] up hiring and and everything that's needed to sustain that operation under

[1:04:09] shorter term. though. And that's why I I think, you know, as as Candace, we're

[1:04:13] we're very proud of this relationship now that we're entering into with with

[1:04:17] Legends. But this was a competitive process and I I think that speaks to the

[1:04:21] market. Um some of their major competitors in this space were um

[1:04:27] competed for this and and again, so I think that really shows I mean they're

[1:04:32] this is their business. They know what they're doing and and and their

[1:04:35] competitors know what they're doing. And so the fact that they looked at these

[1:04:38] venues, uh, they toured the facilities, they they saw the good and the bad of of

[1:04:43] these facilities, and yet it was a very competitive process, I think, speaks to

[1:04:47] the opportunity that's there. We've got facilities with good bones. That good

[1:04:51] opportunity well situated in this metro area that can be better maximized with

[1:04:56] with these strategic strategic investments on the capital side, but

[1:05:00] strategic partnerships on the type of users that we're bringing into to these

[1:05:04] venues. Well, I for me I think given the age of the

[1:05:09] facility and what we've experienced and what we know we want it to be having a

[1:05:13] partner willing to be here for five years, they need the longer runway to to

[1:05:18] make put the heartbeat back into this place.

[1:05:21] » So, you know, it's performance-based, which is important, but also it doesn't

[1:05:27] let them escape us. So, they're they're dedicated to us at this point. Yeah, I

[1:05:32] think this is I'm I am excited for this. I think this is the right first step in

[1:05:38] in the long future of these facilities is to um partner with you all who know

[1:05:44] what you're doing um who have the expertise in the network. I think this

[1:05:48] is a great first step and again like I said to to make the case that we should

[1:05:52] invest um more financially um and make huge in capital investments. So, I I I

[1:05:59] am happy that we're going this route first, and I'm excited because I think

[1:06:02] we all knew there was there was room for improvement. Um, not that,

[1:06:06] » you know, it was okay, but there was definitely there's definitely room for

[1:06:11] improvement. You obviously see it as well um in its existing state with a few

[1:06:16] with a few tweaks um before we get to some of the bigger investments. So,

[1:06:21] anyway, appreciate it. Thank you for the um presentation. I look forward to

[1:06:25] seeing all the great things. I going to more concerts. [laughter]

[1:06:29] » More wheezer. >> Yeah.

[1:06:31] » Council member Taylor, your button cleanup.

[1:06:33] » All right. >> Thank you. Thank you for the

[1:06:36] presentation. Thank you for the time that you've spent answering all of our

[1:06:39] questions. Um I understand the pretty high level goal. Correct me if I'm

[1:06:43] wrong, but really what we're looking to do is refresh these spaces. The hope is

[1:06:47] that we'll obviously drive more business into downtown Mesa and hopefully

[1:06:50] encourage additional businesses to look at opening up in downtown Mesa. Really

[1:06:54] activating the entire area is what I know activating is like the new buzzword

[1:06:58] everywhere. So, I get that, but I tend to be a little more socratic, so I ask a

[1:07:02] lot of questions. The technical details just help me understand the bigger

[1:07:05] picture more and it highlights it generally for the general public. So, um

[1:07:10] I know that you have all of your projects listed, at least the big ones,

[1:07:13] in the presentation. So, thank you. That actually answered quite a few questions

[1:07:16] of where else do you have Arizona locations that you're currently doing

[1:07:20] business in? >> Um, are those in the feasibility study?

[1:07:23] Did we use those additional locations that they're doing business in to help

[1:07:27] bolster their their bid for this project? You know, the success rates

[1:07:32] that you have in Tempe or the Diamond um uh stadium or the State Farm Stadium,

[1:07:38] like have you presented those so that you don't I can get that information?

[1:07:42] » Um, yeah. uh Vice Mayor and Council Member Taylor, part of the request for

[1:07:45] proposals did require that they give us case examples of areas, things that they

[1:07:50] do that are similar in our size and nature.

[1:07:53] » Um also, um just, you know, what is their history over time? What are their,

[1:07:58] you know, what have they what have they driven? So, it might not be the the

[1:08:01] examples they used in their proposal might not be the ones that was in

[1:08:04] Arizona. They might be ones that were more comparable, okay? uh number of

[1:08:07] seats and and square footage and ballroom size and so forth because those

[1:08:11] are more comparable. But those those were all provided as part of the

[1:08:15] proposals from all proposers were required to bring that in. They were

[1:08:18] required to have expertise in this industry um you know multi-year

[1:08:23] expertise in this industry and and prove it up through their proposals as well as

[1:08:27] talk to us about anything that may have gone ary in the past. Were there

[1:08:31] anything that were cancelled um and those types of things? So those that

[1:08:34] type of background was part of that proposal and part of what we reviewed as

[1:08:38] a team um for the selection committee >> and have the have you experienced with

[1:08:43] more boutiquesized locations? I know our amphitheater is

[1:08:46] obviously not huge but I think it's pretty cool but per capita our city is

[1:08:50] quite large. So that's a weird kind of tenuous relationship with how many

[1:08:54] people we have here, how many people we want to bring in on top of how many

[1:08:58] people we have here. and the culture of our city is very unique in that I'd say

[1:09:02] Mesa is very very family friendly. So that would kind of form and shape the

[1:09:05] types of events that we may offer um additional to events that we might want

[1:09:09] to draw people in from outside cities or locations. So do you have experience

[1:09:14] with that very unique relationship between the per capita size, the size of

[1:09:19] the venue and then the culture of the city?

[1:09:23] Um, yes. I mean, there look, there's um Philadelphia comes to mind, Pittsburgh

[1:09:28] comes to mind, Grand Rapids comes to mind. Um, you fairly larger markets,

[1:09:33] maybe not top tier, but that that next tier where you have to find the right

[1:09:37] niche, right, in in that marketplace. Um, as I mentioned before, this this

[1:09:43] venue, this venue size is kind of in our wheelhouse. Um

[1:09:48] » uh if you look at our network and in some cases um it is the main centerpiece

[1:09:54] venue in that community. Um in other cases it's in a very competitive market

[1:09:59] where you've got to find that niche, you've got to establish that niche. And

[1:10:01] that's part of what we talked about with the city during the process um in terms

[1:10:06] of the types of events, in terms of things we could do with improvements to

[1:10:09] position us a little bit better um within that marketplace. But um every

[1:10:14] situation's different. Um we've been doing this for 45 47 years I think now

[1:10:19] » just a little bit of experience. >> So it it's um you know again it it's a

[1:10:24] situation where we've worked hard to achieve the goals of our municipal

[1:10:28] partners. It's finding that right niche. Um it's it's utilizing the resources we

[1:10:33] have customized to their needs. um the cities, the states, the counties we work

[1:10:38] for um all have different goals um objectives and um it's our job to be

[1:10:45] kind of the day-to-day worker bees to use our our resources to maximize those

[1:10:50] venues while um in this case the city of Mesa sets the miss and sets the goals,

[1:10:55] approves the budget, approves major contracts as Candace said. Um so yeah, I

[1:11:00] mean we've got we come in here with thoughts out of the gate as to what we

[1:11:03] can do right away. um sharing of of leads and opportunities given the other

[1:11:09] venues we have in the marketplace, business relationships that we have with

[1:11:13] with premium seat holders at the other venues or sponsors where they might be

[1:11:18] look looking to do a meeting or a conference and we could rotate that into

[1:11:21] Mesa. So, it's that sharing of of opportunities and leads um that's

[1:11:26] central to our thinking here that are a good fit for this venue. Um, so yeah,

[1:11:31] preconceived thoughts, what we can do right out of the gate, a little bit of

[1:11:35] living and learning over time as we're on the ground here working with

[1:11:37] stakeholders, um, learning more about the venue. Um, so but confidence we can

[1:11:44] » Thank you. >> We can be successful here.

[1:11:47] » That's very helpful. Thank you. Um, so [clears throat]

[1:11:50] I had a few other questions. Uh, I was curious to know just I'm just

[1:11:55] going to trail off that one. What would you consider a premium act of

[1:12:00] entertainment coming to the Mesa Amphitheater that might also share over

[1:12:04] to the convention center for this particular size? Because I I was

[1:12:08] thinking about I was thinking about Glendale Swift City as everyone called

[1:12:12] it. And I'm like, man, that brought in literally hundreds of thousands of

[1:12:15] people. It was wild. And I was I was trying to imagine that's huge

[1:12:20] entertainment. What would that look like here in our I know that's not who I'm

[1:12:25] thinking of, but just what would something like that look like? Is that

[1:12:28] even feasible? >> Well,

[1:12:32] um, Vice Mayor, Council Member Taylor, um,

[1:12:36] look there the if you're talking about live entertainment in the amphitheater

[1:12:40] events and concerts, um, you've got to focus on what makes economic sense,

[1:12:45] right, for for the tourists, for the artists. Um certainly there's a niche

[1:12:50] that a 5,000 seat amphitheater has in in that industry.

[1:12:55] » Um we've talked about expansion a little bit that's come up. Again, we've got a

[1:12:59] live entertainment one of our uh Ralph Marquetta who's an industry veteran

[1:13:03] who's based here in in the Phoenix market, knows all the venues, knows the

[1:13:07] market very well, what genres work, um what doesn't work. um and he and others

[1:13:13] in our live entertainment division were central to our focus on um some

[1:13:18] thoughts, initiatives, aspirational thinking that we brought to the table

[1:13:21] during this process. Expanding capacity of the amphitheater if we can get to

[1:13:25] that point is central to it. um adding another couple thousand seats, elevating

[1:13:29] the premium experiences, addressing the back of house positions you much better

[1:13:34] um with the key decision makers in that world, artists, agents, promoters,

[1:13:38] managers um to bring a higher level of act to to the venue. So um look, we've

[1:13:45] got we've got our relationships. We've got um our successful promoter partners

[1:13:51] um Live Nations, the AGs of the world, but also the smaller independent

[1:13:55] regional promoters. Um, we operate all of our amphitheaters with an open venue

[1:13:59] policy. We don't want to turn away opportunities. Um, some some don't

[1:14:03] operate that way where they're more exclusive to one promoter. Um, but we

[1:14:07] want to work with all promoters. Um, and we have proven success doing that,

[1:14:11] bringing all genres opportunities to the table. U, but it's got to make economic

[1:14:15] sense all the way around. And that's why you've engaged us to be a voice in the

[1:14:19] room as we plan for the future and the phasing and what's most important. What

[1:14:23] can we do out of the gate? what's going to take a higher level of investment, a

[1:14:26] little bit more time to plan out. Does that lead to naming rights

[1:14:29] opportunities, other opportunities? So, um

[1:14:33] um so we're we're you know, we're we're looking at all that and and look to work

[1:14:38] work with the city moving forward. But I think there's also just maybe this

[1:14:42] doesn't answer your question. There's the opportunity to do events that

[1:14:44] utilize all the spaces, right? You maybe do those already. Um where you've got a

[1:14:49] convention or a meeting that's going to have a trade show element, it's going to

[1:14:51] have a banquet element. It's going to be there's going to be a VIP party or that

[1:14:55] element that could be hosted at the amphitheater. There could be a live

[1:14:58] entertainment or speaker, a comedian that could be part of that convention

[1:15:00] that you utilize the whole >> and what can we do going forward whether

[1:15:05] it's outdoor spaces or other opportunities again working with other

[1:15:08] stakeholders to elevate that destination cell for those types of groups so that

[1:15:11] they're not yes they can use the whole campus. we're providing the technology,

[1:15:15] the space, the service, the food to meet their expectations, but are there

[1:15:19] broader opportunities outside of the outside of the complex that would appeal

[1:15:23] to the meeting planners and the decision makers? Um, and the live entertainment

[1:15:27] side, not to kind of ramble here, is no >> there's very few decision makers. It's

[1:15:31] not it's a pretty tight ecosystem of people

[1:15:34] » that determine what shows go where and how they're routed. Um, and we're

[1:15:39] ingrained in that world. We're we're at the table in that world. So, um, but you

[1:15:44] got to have the ammunition and the and the, uh, the arrows and the quiver to

[1:15:48] shoot to land those shows. Um, so our our thoughts are around, yes, we can

[1:15:53] elevate what you have now, but we also need to be thinking about the future and

[1:15:56] where we see a niche in this marketplace that we can take advantage of

[1:16:00] » and that's part of that five years. >> Yes.

[1:16:02] » Yeah. >> Okay, that's helpful. Um, will the

[1:16:06] targets and goals that they're setting, will that come to council or that will

[1:16:09] remain just with staff? Vice Mayor and Council Member Tenner, that would be

[1:16:13] with staff. That's the administration of the contract.

[1:16:15] » Okay. And I hate to be like the Debbie Downer, but if they fail to meet their

[1:16:20] targets and goals within that 5-year period, what does that look like for us

[1:16:23] as a city? Do we have an out in the contract? If it's just not

[1:16:28] » the engine is running, but we're not [snorts] going anywhere.

[1:16:30] » Mayor and Vice Mayor Chandler, we have we have the out. We always have an out

[1:16:34] in contracts if they're not going the way we want them to go. Um, and we're

[1:16:38] not talking about just the overall normal contract of of default on either

[1:16:41] side type of a thing, but if just the partnership is not working um, going

[1:16:45] forward with with pri proper notice and so forth and obviously we would have

[1:16:49] worked on it for a long time before we would have made that decision. Um, but

[1:16:53] there's always that opportunity um to make sure that we are protecting

[1:16:57] ourselves, our staff, our our facilities and so forth. So, we always have that in

[1:17:01] every any contract we negotiate. >> Okay. It's a big pitch to the public,

[1:17:05] you know, and I think it's wonderful that we're looking at obviously using

[1:17:08] the revenue to reinvest in those facilities. That's excellent. I was

[1:17:11] super excited to hear that. Um, and that it's not displacing the burden of all of

[1:17:15] this refreshing onto the taxpayer in general. So, that was wonderful. I just,

[1:17:20] you know, I have to think through all the moving pieces. Um, I'm skipping some

[1:17:24] of these were already answered, which was wonderful. Uh,

[1:17:30] I did have one important [clears throat] question on slide eight. I know this

[1:17:34] might be part of your in-house operations. Um, I'd love to hear what

[1:17:39] you consider DEI uh in human resources.

[1:17:48] » Yeah, I think it's um you look we have specialists in DEI in our in our human

[1:17:53] resources department. So um that could go into greater depth than I can but um

[1:17:59] you know as a baseline our focus is on developing our people right um we have

[1:18:04] training programs we have over 120 different training programs different

[1:18:08] languages from customer service training leadership training um online training

[1:18:13] that all of our full-time people um and in some cases some of our contractors

[1:18:18] will be uh will be expected to participate in. Some are some are

[1:18:22] required, some are more optional, but developing our people um is central to

[1:18:28] to our approach here. We've got um you know, we talked about the transition

[1:18:32] here. What we've seen over the years um is a track record of

[1:18:40] um you we talked about the transition and coming in here and we expect that

[1:18:43] some of the employees are going to stay on as our employees. We give them more

[1:18:46] tools, more resources to help them do their job better. Um, and I'm sure that

[1:18:53] will play out here. Um, you know, people want to be a part of something special.

[1:18:58] People want to be contributors. They want to be part of a team that's

[1:19:01] successful and contribute to it. So, um, you know, we will provide them that

[1:19:05] opportunity. Um, so I'm not sure I'm answering your question, but um,

[1:19:10] » do you receive ESG funds? >> I don't know if I can answer that

[1:19:15] question, but I can get that answer for you. Councilman

[1:19:17] » Taylor, >> thank you. Yeah, I'm excited to see

[1:19:21] where it lands. I think it's going to be great for the space. I I think the

[1:19:26] public will be excited to see the amphitheater and the convention center a

[1:19:31] little more lively. I do get asked quite frequently, do we use our convention

[1:19:35] center? Like, yeah, we do. We do. I I think the east side doesn't tend to

[1:19:40] traverse over to this area frequently. >> I'm here.

[1:19:44] » Okay. Do you go to the convention center often?

[1:19:47] » Uh I used to go for fire school. Yeah. [laughter]

[1:19:50] » Okay. So, not for a while. >> Um I think it'd be good to see some more

[1:19:54] events happening there. I'm I'm I'm imagining big events and I'm hoping we

[1:19:58] get to that point at the end of that maybe fiveyear period because I've been

[1:20:02] to some pretty cool events at some pretty awesome convention centers and I

[1:20:04] can see where it can go. >> So, thank you so much. Thanks for

[1:20:07] answering my questions. I appreciate it. >> Great. Also, the state of the city is

[1:20:14] also fun to come to. >> Nice. Yeah. So, so Vice Mayor, I I do as

[1:20:19] as we're wrapping up on on this, uh, it seems I I just wanted to thank Brad

[1:20:23] Gestner, who's gotten off easy this morning. He hasn't had [laughter] it,

[1:20:26] but when you when you go into something and you don't know what you don't know,

[1:20:30] um, you have to go out and find people who can shepherd you through that. Um

[1:20:35] Brad Brad's history um has been in this industry uh on the other side of the

[1:20:41] equation, but we went out and and Brad's been working with us to to help us

[1:20:45] navigate and understand this process because we needed that uh we we needed

[1:20:49] someone who understood that that side of the industry to help us guide our RFQ,

[1:20:54] our negotiations, our understandings of industry best practices and norms as we

[1:20:59] had our our conversations um with with all the folks who applied for this and

[1:21:04] so just want to thank thank Brad. He's he he's been indispensable in this

[1:21:09] process and so we've we've appreciated his uh stewardship throughout all this.

[1:21:13] So thank you. You >> okay [sighs] Mr. Heredia suggested the

[1:21:18] Purina Pro plan convention center. [laughter]

[1:21:22] That was me. It was me. Mr. Heredia, do you have any questions?

[1:21:29] » It's always finding the mute button that's the hardest.

[1:21:33] No, appreciate it, Scott. No. >> Um, no, this is exciting and appreciate,

[1:21:39] uh, all the questions have been asked. Uh, great. I I I also look forward to,

[1:21:45] um, you know, great events happening there at the amphitheater and the

[1:21:51] convention center. So, thank you. >> Agreed. I think the fact that we've been

[1:21:55] talking about this for an hour and 20 minutes shows the importance of of

[1:21:59] [snorts] this for the heartbeat of downtown.

[1:22:03] uh but as an asset that we really want to maximize. So, thank you so much for

[1:22:07] your time. >> Thank you.

[1:22:09] » Look forward to working with you. >> Thank you.

[1:22:14] » Anybody need a break? Are we good? >> Buckle up.

[1:22:18] » I think we just have one more and then we have

[1:22:20] » one more and then we have an e session. So, we can let's see uh

[1:22:24] » we can plow through. >> Yes, sir. I have 9:30

[1:22:31] meeting offite. >> Okay. Mr. Adams has a hard stop at

[1:22:35] » Sure. And and I I think Jay can be very brief on this. It it's um so we can run

[1:22:40] through this very quickly and then um it it's really just answer any questions

[1:22:45] that council may have about um about the agreement with Canon Beach and and um

[1:22:51] » Okay. Glad to answer that. >> Uh so Mr. Adams has to leave at 9:30. he

[1:22:57] has a hard stop. >> Okay.

[1:22:58] » What does that mean for the e session? >> We we can continue. I I I also think if

[1:23:04] we can plow through this, uh, you know, the e session probably shouldn't be very

[1:23:08] long, um, either. So, I I think we'll be in good shape.

[1:23:11] » We'll we'll see how that works. We will miss council member Adams if he does

[1:23:14] have to leave but I think we can [laughter]

[1:23:19] vice versa economic development director for the city of Mesa and joining me

[1:23:24] today is Sarah Steedman assistant city attorney attorney and then on my right

[1:23:29] is Ben Snow deputy director for the office of economic development. The

[1:23:34] purpose uh of what we're doing today is to talk about the Canon Beach Hotel

[1:23:38] project, which is an upscale hotel project with a minimum of 130 rooms and

[1:23:44] various amenities including a rooftop deck, an event space, ground level, hot

[1:23:48] tub, and lawn area, a bar and lounge connected to an outdoor terrace

[1:23:52] overlooking the surf pool with a fullervice upscale restaurant. This is

[1:23:57] something that we've been very anxious for in Southeast Mesa. So, we'll be

[1:24:01] discussing the major terms of the development agreement, but we'll go

[1:24:04] fairly quickly. So, if you have any questions at the end, there will be time

[1:24:07] for that. Um, the location is just south of Warner Road on the east side of of

[1:24:12] Power. The total site for the entire development is 35 acres and the hotel

[1:24:17] site is just over 1.3 acres. The proposed development area uh development

[1:24:24] agreement project area again is only for the hotel development and it's a

[1:24:29] property that's owned by Canon Beach Hotel. We also have a member of their

[1:24:33] executive team in the audience today, Joe Codddle here. So if you have

[1:24:36] specific questions for the developer, he's happy to pop up and answer those.

[1:24:40] This is a sales tax reimbursement for public infrastructure that's related to

[1:24:45] the hotel and restaurant. So, the overview of the DA structure is as

[1:24:49] follows. It again, it's a reimbursement of the taxes up to $950,000

[1:24:55] for dedicated public infrastructure if the developer completes all of the

[1:25:00] following conditions. 18 months from the DA effective date, they will obtain

[1:25:04] building permits for the public infrastructure. 36 months from the

[1:25:08] effective date, they'll complete the public infrastructure, which must be

[1:25:12] designed, bid, and built per applicable law. and they'll dedicate the public

[1:25:17] infrastructure as well as the right of way to the city. Um, plus they will also

[1:25:23] construct the upscale upscale hotel which is currently a planned tapestry by

[1:25:28] Hilton and they must complete construction of that and be open to the

[1:25:32] public within 36 months of the effective date of the DA. So reimbursement for the

[1:25:37] public infrastructure is using uh construction sales tax that's generated

[1:25:42] from the project and a portion of the retail sales tax generated by the hotel

[1:25:46] and restaurant. And I'll turn it over to Sarah. Oop, excuse me. Um, one more

[1:25:51] slide. Uh the proposed property again the the p the public infrastructure

[1:25:56] that's on Warner Road will include all of the public improvements which is

[1:26:01] pavement, turn lanes, curbon gutters, sidewalks, driveways, storm drains,

[1:26:05] signing and striping and and staking and testing. And now Sarah will go through

[1:26:10] the construction tax incentives specifically. And just looking at this

[1:26:15] to reiterate, the portions of dedicated sales tax for public safety, quality of

[1:26:19] life, and streets is not included in this deal.

[1:26:22] » Correct.

[1:26:26] » Good morning, council. As Jay mentioned, the public improvements that developers

[1:26:30] required to install along Warner Road are eligible for reimbursement. The

[1:26:35] maximum amount of reimbursement the city would pay is $950,000.

[1:26:40] um that's based on the current estimate of the cost to install the public

[1:26:44] improvements. If it ends up costing the developer less to put in those public

[1:26:49] improvements, um the actual cost of the public improvements would be the cap

[1:26:53] that we would reimburse. And the reimbursement comes from the transaction

[1:26:58] privilege tax that this project generates the which as you said, Vice

[1:27:04] Mayor, um it's at a 2% rate only the 1.2 to non-dedicated and unrestricted amount

[1:27:10] could be used for the reimbursement. The first portion of that TPT that we could

[1:27:15] reimburse from is the construction sales tax. Um 100% of that 1.2% can be used to

[1:27:22] reimburse the developer for the public infrastructure. So, and that would

[1:27:26] happen as a one-time payment after all of those conditions are met and the city

[1:27:30] has accepted the public improvements. The second portion that of the TPT that

[1:27:35] we can reimburse from is the elig um the retail sales tax and we would reimburse

[1:27:40] 50% of that non-dedicated 1.2%. This these reimbursement payments would

[1:27:46] happen over the course of the development agreement which has a

[1:27:49] 10-year term although we anticipate they will reach the reimbursement cap in the

[1:27:53] first eight years. And Ben will cover the economic impact

[1:27:59] analysis. see my light coming on here.

[1:28:08] » There we go. Thank you. So, there are four statutory requirements. Um, and I

[1:28:13] will share those with you quickly here per Arizona statute section 9-5001.

[1:28:20] Council must find that the proposed sales tax incentive of the project will

[1:28:24] raise more revenues than the amount of the incentive reimbursement during the

[1:28:28] term of the agreement and that the development [clears throat] would not

[1:28:32] locate in Mesa in the same time, place or manner in the absence of said tax

[1:28:37] incentive. The second uh requirement is the statute requires an independent

[1:28:42] third-party review of the council findings. Third is that ARS section

[1:28:47] 42-610 requires that construction and sales tax

[1:28:51] incentives offered to retail businesses be provided only as reimbursement for

[1:28:56] public infrastructure dedicated to and accepted and controlled upon completion

[1:29:00] of the project by the city which which Jay had mentioned a couple minutes ago.

[1:29:05] And there are also a requirement for there to be two city council meetings

[1:29:09] which include a notice of intent resolution and resolutions for approval

[1:29:13] of the development agreement and council findings requiring a two-thirds vote of

[1:29:17] our council. >> I feel like we've been done this before.

[1:29:23] » So the third party economic analysis was performed by applied economics Sarah

[1:29:28] Merley as principal. It includes an economic analysis and impacts uh summary

[1:29:34] with projected sales tax, city st city tax revenues, public improvements, total

[1:29:40] economic impact, job creation, annual labor income and construction activity.

[1:29:45] And the revenues to the city are forecasted that this project will

[1:29:49] generate significantly greater amounts of sales tax revenues than the total

[1:29:53] amount of this rebate that's being proposed um on the order of 10 times as

[1:29:58] much over a 10-year period. and the final analysis report will be a

[1:30:03] companion document with the the resolution uh with the with the

[1:30:06] development agreement. So the next steps in the process here is

[1:30:11] on Monday there will be a notice of intent resolution that will be placed on

[1:30:15] the agenda for Monday's council meeting and then on September the 14th that's

[1:30:20] when the development agreement resolution and the city council findings

[1:30:24] resolution will be placed on the agenda. >> Okay. So, next meeting's notice of

[1:30:30] intent. There are any questions or concerns? We have plenty of time to

[1:30:34] answer those. >> Vice Mayor, just wanted to amplify one

[1:30:37] point that Ben said because >> I kind of glossed over more than more

[1:30:41] than [laughter] >> that's all I that's all I

[1:30:43] » Well, it's upscale luxury hotel first and

[1:30:47] foremost. This is the type of hotel development I know council is anxious to

[1:30:51] see. So we appreciate the partnership with Canon Beach on on bringing a high

[1:30:55] quality luxury brand high upper level. I'm not sure of the industry term, but

[1:31:01] uh we would call it upscale. Sometimes people will refer to it in the four the

[1:31:05] fourstar arena. Those mean the same thing.

[1:31:08] » Yeah. So so that's great. And again on the tax incentive side that this will

[1:31:12] generate more than 10 times the amount of of this uh investment that we're

[1:31:18] allowing back into this. So it's it's a great ROI. It's going to make a lot of

[1:31:21] money for the city and uh and and the hospitality industry um when this hotel

[1:31:26] comes to fruition. So that's it's this is exactly the type of quality

[1:31:29] development we need >> same time period.

[1:31:32] » Yes. >> I I'm Joe I know Joe's out somewhere. Um

[1:31:39] I I'll I'll tell you if you're going to back somebody uh it's Canon Beach.

[1:31:42] They've been putting their shoulder into bringing a higher level of quality here.

[1:31:46] I think they did. They steal First Friday from downtown or they just do a

[1:31:50] new one. >> We could do a D see who has a better uh

[1:31:55] First Friday and we're going to have a competition on First Friday.

[1:31:59] » No, they they stole from Phoenix, which is even better, you know. So, so uh the

[1:32:04] the level of restaurants are bringing in are all sit down restaurants, which is

[1:32:08] what's people in the entire city have been asking for, but particularly on the

[1:32:13] east side, you know, we've been asking for more of these things. And we have

[1:32:16] somebody that's just been running full full steam ahead on on delivering some

[1:32:21] of that. Sometimes a little faster than you [laughter]

[1:32:24] perhaps you should, but I've really been impressed with what's been going on

[1:32:29] there. So when you when you look for a partner, um this this is one I think we

[1:32:34] would want to pick up on. >> Thank you, Vice Mayor.

[1:32:36] » Any questions or comments from Yes, ma'am.

[1:32:38] » I don't have a question, but I just I wanted to say I was looking up the

[1:32:41] Tapestry hotels and they are so cool. I was like, I want to go stay in all of

[1:32:45] these. Like all of them have such unique looks and designs to them. You can tell

[1:32:48] they're pretty immersive. You get a different experience depending on where

[1:32:51] you are. So I'm I was just excited to see that that's going to be the style

[1:32:55] coming in. I think it's going to draw in a lot of excited visitors both locally

[1:32:59] and even from out of town. I mean, Canon Beach, it's pretty cool. We've been a

[1:33:03] couple times. So, just to look at a fake beach is awesome. [laughter]

[1:33:08] » Have a beach. >> That's a I'm going to sit on that

[1:33:11] rooftop and like I don't know, eat some French fries,

[1:33:14] » live the life. >> Mr. Adams, I know you have a question.

[1:33:19] » Yes. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Uh I would just comment I think this is a great win

[1:33:23] by economic development the team there and uh what I'm recalling is probably

[1:33:28] somewhere between five and seven years ago when I was a member of the visit

[1:33:33] Mesa board and I believe it was Cole Cannon who came and presented his

[1:33:38] concept of what Canon Beach and the surrounding development would be and um

[1:33:44] I would say that from what I've observed is he has surpassed

[1:33:49] the vision vision that he presented at that time and um um I think Adam Saxs

[1:33:55] was uh I think Adam's still affiliated with that. He was a very productive

[1:34:00] member of the visit Mesa board and continue to forward that vision. So I'm

[1:34:04] I'm very supportive of this. I think it's a great win for us and I think uh

[1:34:08] these these are folks who delivered above and beyond what which doesn't

[1:34:13] always happen and folks come and paint a picture for you. It doesn't always fill

[1:34:17] in, but this one is colored in really nicely.

[1:34:21] » And I hear they have an absolutely perfect safety record for shark attack.

[1:34:28] » Good point. >> Seeing no other questions,

[1:34:33] uh, >> how many people

[1:34:37] » by sharks? >> I don't know. That's uh information I

[1:34:40] think they can gather and come back with.

[1:34:42] » We we believe that number is zero. But we did run some recent numbers and since

[1:34:46] Canon Beach has been open, I know today's topic is specific to this hotel

[1:34:50] project, but since Canon Beach has been open over the last 20 months, there have

[1:34:54] been nearly 1 million visits to the Canon Beach campus

[1:34:59] » over that period. We need to get these hotels up. Yeah.

[1:35:02] » Mr. Heredia, >> did I hear you or

[1:35:10] » No, >> no, I'm good. Thank you.

[1:35:12] » All right. Thank you, Mr. Thank you so much for the presentation.

[1:35:15] We'll see you later in the week. Um, I'm going to fly through this because I know

[1:35:19] we're short on time. Item 2A, appointments to various boards and

[1:35:23] commissions. Do I have uh council member Duff, Council Member Adams? All in favor

[1:35:28] say I. >> I. Item 3A is acknowledge receipt of

[1:35:33] board minutes. Do I have a motion? >> Council member Adams and Council Member

[1:35:38] Duff. All in favor say I. I. >> I. Any oppose? Hearing none. Motion

[1:35:44] carries. Did you get those? Yeah. Okay. Uh we we will talk about what we've been

[1:35:49] doing over our council break maybe at the next meeting on Monday so we can get

[1:35:53] through this. And um with that, I'll con u look for a motion to convene an

[1:35:58] executive session to discuss with the city attorney potential to engage uh

[1:36:05] with a lawsuit. So, Council Member Goforth and Council Member Taylor. All

[1:36:11] in favor? >> I. Any opposed?

[1:36:15] Ignoring anybody that said no, we're going into executive session.

[1:36:48] Mr. [music] Smith, do you have my motion?

[1:36:52] » I know you wanted me to memorize it, but >> I can I'll just read it and say just

[1:36:56] read it if you want. >> Okay, I'll just say that we're uh we are

[1:37:00] reconvened. We are minus uh council member Heredia was not able to uh

[1:37:08] was not able to rejoin us. So there's and mayor's uh absent excused.

[1:37:14] So with that, is there a motion to direct the city attorney to file a

[1:37:18] lawsuit and pursue litigation on behalf of the city of Mesa against the fire

[1:37:23] apparatus manufacturers the city has purchased from and to retain legal

[1:37:28] counsel for that purpose as discussed in the executive session? Do I have a

[1:37:33] motion from council member Adams, a second from council member Duff? All in

[1:37:38] favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? Seeing none, the motion

[1:37:44] passes unanimously with council member Heredia and the mayor absent. Very good.

[1:37:51] With that, do I have a motion to adjurnn? Council member Adams, council

[1:37:54] member Duff, all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? I didn't think so. We are

[1:37:59] ajourned.

[1:38:07] [music]

Council Study Session - 8/13/2026

Agenda

Transcript