Item:
Title
Approval of Fourth Amendment to the Management Agreement for the Durham Convention Center (5min)
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: June 3, 2019
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to suspend the rules and vote on the fourth amendment to the Management Agreement for the Durham Convention Center.
This item was discussed at the May 6, 2019 Work Session but was not placed on the May 13, 2019 Regular Session agenda for approval. Parties have already signed the agreement and with the Board's approval, the remaining signatures can be obtained. Please see the information below provided at the May 6, 2019 meeting:
The Board is requested to receive information on the proposed, fourth amendment to the management agreement for the Durham Convention Center and, if appropriate, to approve it and authorize the County Manager to execute it.
Durham County and the City of Durham jointly own the Durham Convention Center. The facility, which opened in the late 1980s, was managed for many years by The Shaner Corporation, which also owned and operated the attached Marriott hotel. In FY10-11, the City and County decided to bid out management of the convention center, and in February 2011 entered into our first management agreement with Global Spectrum (now doing business as Spectra).
The agreement has already been extended twice. Global Spectrum's performance has taken a facility which regularly required over $1 million per year in subsidy to a facility losing very little money at all. In FY17-18 the facility actually made money. Based on this positive performance and also on helpful elements incorporated in this proposed amendment, City and County staff are happy to bring forward this proposed ten-year extension of the management agreement. The proposed agreement does provide for a full management review after the first five years.
Alignment with Strategic Plan: A high-performing Durham Convention Center exposes many new people to Du...
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