RFI #I19-04 - DEVELOPMENT & PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT THE RANCH EEVENT COMPLEX PROPOSED HOTEL, SPORTS, AND EVENT FACILITIES AUGUST 8, 2019 PETER ZINGONI Vice President, Business Development & Client Relations 150 Rouse Blvd., 3rd Floor O: 215-389-9477 M: 203-241-9618 | E: [email protected] August 8, 2019 Les Brown Purchasing Agent Larimer County 200 W. Oak Street, Suite 4000 Fort Collins, CO 80521 Dear Mr. Brown: As you know, Spectra Venue Management (formerly known as Global Spectrum) has successfully operated the Budweiser Events Center (BEC) since it first opened for business in 2003. Prior to the grand opening, Spectra served as the County’s pre-opening operational consultant, working with the architectural and construction teams to ensure that, when completed, the venue would meet all of the County’s goals and objectives with respect to event programming, operational efficiency, bottom-line financial performance, and overall impact on The Ranch and Larimer County economy. We are now excited to respond to the County’s RFI #I19-04 Development & Partnership Opportunities at The Ranch Events Complex – Proposed Hotel, Sports, and Event Facilities, as we are extremely eager to grow our partnership and remain involved in the development of the Master Plan. SPECTRA’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT THE BEC During our more than 15-year tenure as the manager of the BEC, we have become integral and highly respected members of the Larimer County community. Our performance at the BEC has been widely recognized and praised over the years, which is due to some of the following accomplishments: • We have averaged over 200 events at the BEC each year. • We have achieved an average net operating surplus of $550,000, with our best net operating surplus being $975,000 in 2014. • At the request of the County, we have expanded our scope of services. • Our original General Manager, Rick Hontz, who is now Spectra’s Regional Vice President, continues to live in and work from Larimer County. Through Rick, the BEC has enjoyed an unprecedented level of Spectra Corporate support in the areas of event booking and deal making, operational efficiencies, capital improvement programming, HR, financial controls and reporting, and marketing. • Our current General Manager, Keller Taylor, has become an integral member of the Larimer County team, and a trusted advisor to the County on all matters related to The Ranch and the BEC. • Keller and his team continue to make every possible effort to support the sales, marketing, and promotional efforts of all our BEC event promoters and tenants, with special emphasis placed on AHL prime tenant, the Colorado Eagles. • We provide world class food and beverage services through our Food Services & Hospitality division, continually driving revenue and improving quality. Last year, we added new menu items and enhanced concession stands. FINANCIAL COMMITMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT As we indicate later and within our response, Spectra is willing to guarantee net income associated with the key areas envisioned in the RFI and Ranch Key Master Plan. We have also provided in our Response detailed information regarding typical financial structures we enter for the County to consider. Furthermore, we are willing to contribute a significant capital contribution to the development of the Ranch, as we have done in similar development projects. Spectra’s own financial strength, along with the deep resources of our ownership structure – which consists of Atairos, Comcast Spectacor, and Comcast NBC Universal – makes Spectra the most well-capitalized firm in the business. SpectraExperiences.com We are confident that we can be successful in providing a guarantee along with a significant investment based on our experience in the market managing the Budweiser Events Center for over 15 years, as well as our intimate knowledge of this project as our General Manager, Keller Taylor, has been involved since the inception of this plan in 2016. These critical factors, along with our corporate resources and development experience, makes Spectra the ideal partner for the County to engage in this venture. ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS As described previously, Spectra is clearly the management company with the best and most established national, regional, and local relationships with sports and entertainment, convention and tradeshow, youth sports, and all other existing and potential users of the BEC, The Ranch, and the future facilities envisioned by the County. This also includes the many stakeholders that rely on Spectra to book and promote the events to maximize impact on local businesses and the entire economic community of Larimer County. Through our intimate relationships that our team has cultivated with regional and national promoters and agencies, we consistently book over 200 events that host over 350,000 guests annually at the BEC. SALE OF COMMERCIAL RIGHTS Spectra’s Partnerships division is solely dedicated to the sale of commercial rights including sponsorships, naming and pouring rights, advertising, premium seating (suites, club seats, loge boxes, party suites, etc.), and the like. We have engaged these services at the Ranch Complex, where we implement and manage the process for all naming rights, premium seating, design, advertising/partnership, partnership evaluation, needs analysis, and overall sales for the complex. Just last year, we sold over $1.4 million in partnerships and premium seating revenue, which was 11% of the overall venue goal budgeted for the year. Our deep relationships we have fostered in the local and regional business community throughout our tenure, along with our national corporate contacts, provides our team with the ultimate advantage to leverage for the new facilities in the Ranch Key Master Plan. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Included in our Response, we have provided biographies of Spectra’s corporate leadership that will oversee and support this venture should we be successful, our comprehensive Client List, and a copy of Spectra’s 2018 Annual Report for the BEC, which clearly describes our relationship with the County and what we have recently achieved at the venue. 1.1. Submitting Firm Information: Name of Submitting Firm: Global Spectrum L.P. d/b/a Spectra Venue Management Address: 150 Rouse Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19112 Phone: 215-389-9477 Contact Person: Peter Zingoni, Vice President, Business Development & Client Relations – [email protected] Title of the RFI: RFI #I19-04 Development & Partnership Opportunities at The Ranch Events Complex – Proposed Hotel, Sports, and Event Facilities 1.2. Legal Status: Global Spectrum L.P. d/b/a Spectra Venue Management is a Limited Partnership. 2 1.3. Expression of Interest: Spectra is excited about the opportunity to expand our relationship with the County and to continue our involvement on the Master Plan. Our enclosed response provides more detail on our ability, willingness, and desire to partner with the County on this project as it pertains to the entire campus, specifically the new indoor sports and recreation complex and the new expanded spectator/entertainment arena. We are willing to work with the County to help solicit and secure an ideal hotel partner for the complex and would also be able to provide a customized scope for hotel/expo facilities. A summary of the services we can provide, most of which we currently provide to the County, is outlined below. Keep in mind, this is a high-level summary of the scope we are interested in, and we look forward to working with the County and all other participating members of this development to prepare a comprehensive scope of services that Spectra can provide for each facility on the campus. - Equity/ownership - Development - Pre-opening/FF&E Purchasing - Event Programming/Marketing - Food and Beverage services - Management/Operations - Naming Rights/Sponsorships - Use Agreements 1.4. Type of Partnership Spectra is very open to working with Larimer County and all other relevant stakeholders in this development process to come to a mutually agreed upon partnership for our involvement in the development of The Ranch. As it pertains to operation of the sports and entertainment facilities on the campus, upon reviewing final plans and the ability to conduct thorough due diligence, we are willing to work with the County to ultimately assume bottom line risk for the operation of these facilities. We are also very interested in contributing a significant capital investment to the development as part of our partnership. Our experience with these types of partnerships (which we have further outlined in our enclosed Response) is deep, and includes operations in Independence, MO; Trenton, NJ; Des Moines, IA; Hamilton, Ontario; and London, Ontario. In addition to these public/private partnerships, our partner company, Comcast Spectacor, wholly owns the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA, which is currently undergoing a $250 million renovation funded by Comcast and Comcast Spectacor. Spectra is supporting all aspects of this project and will be able to leverage this experience and these resources when participating in The Ranch development. 1.5. Signature and Certification This letter has been signed by Peter Zingoni, VP, Business Development and Client Relations for Spectra, who is authorized to certify on behalf of Spectra that all statements in the submittal are true and correct. Spectra’s Federal Tax ID number is: 59-3599248 3 LEFT PAGE FULL GRAPHIC TEXT FRAME 2. ADDITIONAL Information 2.1-2.2 ORGANIZATION PROFILE