What Happens Next for Our Pensacola Civic Center?

I was asked questions about the Pensacola Civic Center's future in a recent interview with the media....  

So what's next for the Civic Center?  This was the question I was asked recently by Inweekly Reporter Jeremy Morrison.  I have no idea whether or not an article will come from the wide ranging conversation we had on this topic--hopefully one will.

I express doubt about whether or not there'll be an article because I have had two equally long conversations with Inweekly regarding IP and Perdido Bay--and no article has yet to appear in the Inweekly so far as I have seen on those topics either.

But because the Civic Center, and what to do with it going forward, has been such a focus for me personally since I have been a commissioner--I'll just go ahead and post what this discussion entailed in the event that it does not appear in the next issue of Inweekly--because it is a topic of importance.

"So what's going on with the proposal to replace the Civic Center"  was Jeremy's first open-ended question.  My answer went a little something like this:  "There is a group of individuals that have brought a series of proposals to leverage the opportunity to use Triumph Gulf Coast funds, along with their own organic resources and current TDC monies the BCC are already utilizing, in order to build a new event center AND a field house.  There was a previous plan that included new-market tax credits, but that plan could not garner three votes from commissioners and it failed"  was my first response.  Then I continued "This group has refined their proposal, and it will be about $80 Million total, with an anticipated injection of up to $30 Million from Triumph which would be requested after the construction is completed (this group would finance the planning and construction upfront).  The debt service and operations of the new facilities would come from the money we are currently using for the Civic Center yearly--which amounts to $2.8 Million in TDC funds--or "Bed tax" dollars.

"Why do you think this is a good deal?"  was the essence of his next question.  To which I gave the following qualified responses--after stating to him unambiguously that I had yet to see the finished, final proposal and that my final opinion would be based upon a thorough analysis of THAT SPECIFIC DEAL. But based upon what is known now-here are the reasons I believe this project has great merit:

1.  It requires no new revenue from the County's LOST or general fund
2.  It will be financed and construction will be managed with a guaranteed completion timeframe by the P3 partners who brought the plan
3.  If Triumph balks and does not approve money toward the deal--there is no deal (no obligation)
4.  If approved by Triumph Gulf Coast and the Escambia BCC, the project will provide a field house AND a new 6500 seat event center-which will better accommodate events like Pensacon.
5.  The field house part of the project will attract indoor events during our cold weather months which will help us bring in outside dollars and spending in hotels, retail, and restaurants during the historically slowest portions of the year.  This plan also gives our community a second sheet of ice which increases availability for youth hockey, figure skating, and public ice skating--all of which generate revenue.
6.  The project allows us to build in the existing Civic Center footprint with no loss of this venue during construction (i.e. construction occurs and the current Civic Center remains open until the new facilities are ready for use--at which time the new facilities open and the current Civic Center closes simultaneously)
7. This project, if approved,  would require neither an increase to the current 4% bed tax, nor a reduction in that portion of our increasing bed tax revenue yearly that is dedicated to tourism promotion.
8.  It is my understanding that the new proposal includes a large parking structure that the City of Pensacola will pay to construct.

What if any, are the problems and challenges with this proposal?  Was Jeremy's next question..to which I gave the following issues as challenges:

1.  A new study must be conducted to show the economic value of the project and that it meets with the criteria established by Triumph Gulf Coast for funding from that entity.
2.  Under state law, the BCC must advertise this topic and invite additional submissions from unaffiliated but potentially interested entities before we can simply move forward with the currently interested party that has expressed desire to submit a new, revised unsolicited proposal for replacing the Civic Center. (that's a mouthful)
3.  The proposal must withstand the scrutiny of the BCC, the media, and other community leaders before it will realistically move forward.
4.  Another concern that is loud and prevalent is that the new event center will seat significantly fewer people than the existing Civic Center  (6,500 versus around 10,000)
5.  There is a legal concern that under the TDC legislation, continued utilization of existing bed tax revenue for a new or replacement facility may not be permissible.

What happens with the Civic Center if this latest deal does not get done? Was the final question Jeremy asked.  My answer was pretty straightforward:  "If we don't do this, then my feeling that I have repeated frequently is that we need to bond the existing amount we are spending yearly on the Civic Center ($2.8 Million) from the TDC for 20 years and use this to generate about $20-30 Million.  Then we need to utilize these proceeds to renovate and modernize the existing Civic Center so that we can get another 20 years out of this facility.  New marquee, new scoreboard, LED lighting, new restrooms, soundproofing, new luxury boxes, modernized climate control systems, new seats, new optimized seating layouts, new ice plant, new boards for the hockey, all of the above, the whole kit and kaboodle-whatever we need to do to get another 20 good years from the building" was my response.  "We have got to fish or cut bait, we've kicked the can long enough and it is way past time for us to take action on this" Is how I finished the interview.

An Offer of Tremendous Generosity....

Today I received a hand-delivered letter from representatives of  Quint and Rishy Studer, (see letter, below.)

This is an incredibly generous offer and I believe it will lead to the beginning of the effort to bring a field house type project to Downtown Pensacola. 

My hope is that this initiative can be married with a project to renovate and modernize the Bay Center--as I'm not sure doing one without doing the other simulatneously is the best way forward.

I look forward, however, to having a conversation with my counterparts on the board and with community leaders and the folks from PADP so that together we can come up with the winning project for Pensacola and Escambia County.

Meanwhile--the formal, written offer of land donation for this specified purpose is extremely generous ------and it is very much appreciated!

Another Vision for Triumph Field House Proposal Downtown

A new, scaled down Triumph ask for a field house concept utilizing the existing Pensacola Civic Center site will be discussed by the BCC on 7-5-2018 

I have been sent a revised proposal for consideration by the board on the Triumph Gulf Coast Field House proposal.

At the last meeting when this discussion was held, the board was not unified on any single plan in any single location.  The general sense I had was there was support for the field house only, and only at a downtown location.

I discussed (here and here) the possibility of just moving forward independently with repairs to our existing facility, the Civic Center, in order to move this item off our plates and to get another 20 years out of our existing facility.

But this new proposal is intriguing, so it will be discussed at our first meeting in July.

A new $35 Million Dollar field house complex ($10 Million of which would be requested from Triumph), with parking, commercial, and restaurant spaces--within the footprint of the existing Civic Center property.  Would this sort of a project win support from the board?  We will have an answer July 5th--because this will be discussed.  Lots of questions, but this is intriguing.

Kicking the Can on the Pensacola Civic Center.....

How long will the county kick the can on the Pensacola Civic Center Issue?

Six years ago, there was a push among some Escambia County Commissioners and some members of the community to undertake a renovation project at the Pensacola Civic Center.  This multi-million dollar project would have extended the useful lifespan of that facility by a couple of decades.  SMG was consulted, they worked together with the BCC, a scope of work was identified, but no vote ever happened.  The proverbial can got kicked down the road...

Fast forward to last year, and an innovative triumph fund application was made, with the support of multiple local non-profits and representatives from the destination marketing organization (DMO)--and this resulted in a plan to finance the construction of a brand-new arena and field house project that would act as a replacement for the Pensacola Civic Center-a project that could potentially be financed, built, and operated for 30 years while utilizing no general fund dollars and no local option sales tax dollars.  The BCC sent this proposal to triumph, we got behind this project, because this would be a great project if it could be done.

Fast forward to last week and now as the Triumph selections process moves forward--once again the board was asked --yet failed-- to make a critical decision.

The decision was simple:

-sign a very scaled-down and County-friendly Letter of Intent (that offered the county multiple ways out of the deal if the County was not completely satisfied with the final chosen location, the financing, or any other reason for that matter) with the group who brought the proposal--and for this act of good will this group would continue the work to bring a viable location for this plan.  But the board had no appetite to act.  "We need to know the exact location first"  was stated at the meeting.  And no vote happened.  The can got kicked down the road again.

Most everyone now knows that a downtown location will not work--as such a location will not be eligible for New Market Tax Credits (NMTCs) that will add as much as $20 Million into the $80 Million dollar project. 

So if the project location is downtown, I don't believe it is feasible without the 5th cent being levied.

....And several commissioners have stated their staunch opposition to the levy of the 5th cent on the hotel tax  "no matter what."

So as I see it, only one of three things will happen going forward.  And I believe one of these three will move forward as "the plan" over the next several months--because I'm going to press this issue:

1.  A location not in downtown but in an economically challenged area (qualifying for NMTCs) will

Initial Arena LOI and Financial Analysis Request on Tomorrow's Agenda

As I stated last week at the Committee of the Whole meeting, and as I discussed here, I am bringing forward a request on tomorrow's regular meeting agenda to do two things.

1.) Authorize staff to move forward with obtaining an independent financial analysis of the Arena and Field-House proposal and

2.) Seek board approval of an initial Letter Of Intent to move forward with the project in order to signal to Triumph Gulf Coast that the BCC is interested in this project and willing to move forward under the right conditions and subject to certain contingencies.

The well-written agreement, which fully protects the county's position while treating PADP fairly and clearly articulating to Triumph that Escambia County is truly interested in the $25 Million Dollar "Ask" we have submitted to that body--is below.  It is time to fish or cut bait.

Next Steps for the Arena-Field house Triumph Proposal

As it pertains to Escambia County's $25MIllion dollar field house and arena Triumph project, it is time to fish or cut bait..

One week from today the board of county commissioners will vote to either A.) Move forward with the financial analysis and a letter of intent to pursue the new multi-use arena and fieldhouse proposal or B.) Stay in a holding pattern and take no action.

According to staff at today's Committee of the Whole Meeting--the county's Triumph application is on hold until the board makes a decision, one way or the other, on this project.

As I stated in the meeting today--we have a $25 Million dollar proposal at Triumph, it is time to Fish or Cut Bait. 

I am aware that the project's location has become an issue among the various hoteliers that will benefit greatly from this project.  One faction is dead-set on having the project be built downtown,no matter what, come hell or high water and this group is entrenched in this position.  (This group also adamantly opposes the levy of the 5th cent to help pay for the project--knowing full-well that a downtown location all but eliminates the New Market Tax Credits that are essential to make this deal happen). 

The other group of hoteliers is okay with the project moving away from downtown, in order to qualify for the New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) that will add between $16-18 Million to the project.

I personally believe this project will be a winner if we get both the triumph $25Million and at least the $16 Million in NMTCs to help fund this $80 Million dollar project.  For me, the icing on the cake is a written agreeement that the county will spend no Local Option Sales Tax  (LOST) funds on this project, nor will we commit ANY general fund dollars to this deal. 

The difference between the total price and the Triumph and NMTC monies MUST be made up utilizing a portion of the Bed Tax revenue--and I am willing and ready to levy the 5th cent to pitch in to make this deal happen--because I think this is a winner of a deal for the community, no question about it---IF the NMTC and Triumph funds are in play.

But the board, not me alone, must make this decision.  And we will do that next week, next Thursday.

It's time to fish or cut bait.