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Agenda 05/28/2024 Item #11B (Update on the Paradise Coast Sports Complex regarding concert event options)05/28/2024 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recommendation to accept an update on the Paradise Coast Sports Complex regarding concert event location options. OBJECTIVE: Consider and accept an update on Paradise Coast Sports Complex concert event locations. CONSIDERATIONS: Ordinance No. 2020-13, the City Gate Commerce Park PUD, provided for the addition of the Sports Complex. Permitted uses included stages and amplified sound (e.g., concerts) with the restriction that all must face southward. During the November 8, 2022, meeting, the Board approved a staff recommendation to relocate special events with amplified sound and 500 or more participants from public parks near residential areas to the Paradise Coast Sports Complex (PCSC). The Sports Complex is equipped to accommodate large crowds with amenities such as parking, restrooms, and food and beverage options. During the May 14, 2024, meeting, the Board expressed interest in exploring more options for entertainment events and requested information on Stadium field protection. This discussion led to the possibility of amending the Citygate Planned Unit Development (PUD) Ordinance to lessen the restrictions on the allowable direction of amplified sound, which could provide more flexibility in using the PCSC’s Great Lawn and related improvements. Concert Events: Sports Facilities Management, LLC (“SFM”) have consistently tried to find the correct events and partners to work with on concert events. The challenge is finding a promoter willing to take on the cost of renting the stadium, paying security costs, building a stage, covering the cost of production, marketing, and talent, and driving the needed ticket sales to make a return on their investment. For a music event in the stadium to work financially for both a promoter and the County, it would need to attract about 4000 people. After examining existing venues for hosting concerts at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex, three options have been identified, each with its own unique advantages and challenges. Stadium: To efficiently use the Stadium, the stage would need to be on the field facing West 20 -40 yards from the fixed seating. Other stage placement options include positioning the stage on the rock bed between the east berm or in the North End Zone facing south. · Pros: Efficient use of stadium seating; can accommodate large crowds. · Cons: Requires substantial field protection, significant logistical and financial challenges, load in/out risk, and amplified sound direction restrictions. Stadium Field Protection: A considerable amount of flooring is required for stadium field protection. Renting flooring entails a cost of approximately $2.31 per sq ft, in addition to a 10% installation fee plus tax. The acquisition of flooring has a significant upfront expense, between $10-$12 per sq ft. The stadium field is 85,000 sq ft; a concert staged from the north end zone would require 15,000 sq ft of flooring with a purchase price exceeding $150,000. The field protective pieces would be stored on 45-50 pallets. A storage location would need to be provided. Great Lawn: Under directional requirements, concert events in the Great Lawn area must be positioned with the stage facing South. The directional requirement can be accommodated with the stage in front of the climbing wall. Successful events on the Great Lawn include Southwest Florida Shootout Fanfest, Jazz on the Lawn, and Wolf Stock. · Pros: Proximity to amenities (The Cove, parking, restrooms); does not impact sporting events; logical integration of video board. · Cons: Modest capacity (up to 1,500); requires generator power and temporary fencing; risk of saturation in the event of rain. 11.B Packet Pg. 132 05/28/2024 East Lawn: Concerts on the East Lawn area can accommodate the South facing directional requirement. This is possible with the stage positioned on the east-west path at the north end of the East Lawn. Events have been successfully hosted with the stage facing West and East. · Pros: good load-in/out access, a larger space accommodating up to 2,500, and the logical use of South Entry for ingress from parking. · Cons: It requires generator power, has limited restroom facilities, has potential for field saturation in the event of rain, and sporting events on fields cannot occur simultaneously. Conclusion: The Stadium, the East Lawn, and the Great Lawn can all host concert events without adjusting the Planned Unit Development (PUD) relative to the amplified sound restriction. However, in the Stadium, strictly following the PUD would require rotating the stage away from the fixed seats to amplify sound to the South, which would place more emphasis on the field and necessitate increased field protection and related costs. Utilizing the Great or East Lawn for small to medium-sized concerts provides: · Cost-effective venue options · Maximum PCSC utilization by other events on the same date/weekend · No/low risk of damage to the sports fields or load in/out delays · Appropriate return on investment and effort FISCAL IMPACT: There is no direct fiscal impact associated with this item. GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: This executive summary has no immediate growth management impact. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: This item has been reviewed by the County Attorney, raises no issues at this time and requires majority vote for any Board action. -JAK RECOMMENDATION: To accept an update on the Paradise Coast Sports Complex regarding concert event location options. Prepared by: Marissa Baker, Sports Complex Manager, Tourism ATTACHMENT(S) 1. Concert Events Review SFC Flat (PDF) 11.B Packet Pg. 133 05/28/2024 COLLIER COUNTY Board of County Commissioners Item Number: 11.B Doc ID: 29006 Item Summary: Recommendation to accept an update on the Paradise Coast Sports Complex regarding concert event location options. (Ed Finn, Deputy County Manager) Meeting Date: 05/28/2024 Prepared by: Title: Management Analyst II – County Manager's Office Name: Geoffrey Willig 05/22/2024 2:26 PM Submitted by: Title: Deputy County Manager – County Manager's Office Name: Amy Patterson 05/22/2024 2:26 PM Approved By: Review: Office of Management and Budget Blanca Aquino Luque Level 3 OMB Gatekeeper Review Completed 05/22/2024 3:01 PM Office of Management and Budget Christopher Johnson OMB Reviewer Completed 05/22/2024 3:40 PM County Attorney's Office Geoffrey Willig Level 3 County Attorney's Office Review Skipped 05/22/2024 4:03 PM County Attorney's Office Scott Teach CAO Reviewer Completed 05/22/2024 4:20 PM County Manager's Office Ed Finn Level 4 County Manager Review Completed 05/22/2024 5:05 PM Board of County Commissioners Geoffrey Willig Meeting Pending 05/28/2024 9:00 AM 11.B Packet Pg. 134 3940 City Gate Blvd. N Naples, Fla., 34117 PlayParadiseCoast.com Concert Events at Paradise Coast Sports Complex Stadium For reasonable use of the stadium fixed seating the stage would have to be facing west. There are challenges for concert events hosted in the stadium regardless of the direction of the stage: Power – generator power needs to be provided and grounded at the East berms Field design – the recessed field means stage must be built from scratch Access to facilities – restrooms are on the east side of stadium building Field protection – regardless of stage location, field must be protected during load in, event and load out Stage placement options would be: A) On the field facing and 20-40 yards from the fixed seating Pros: most efficient use of the stadium seating Cons: amplified sound not directed south per PUD B) On the Rock bed between the east berms Pros: trailer stage could be utilized Cons: distance from fixed seating, increased protection of field, sound direction not per PUD C) North End Zone facing South Pros: Amplified sound per PUD, Logical position for use of video board Cons: Stadium seating at angle to stage, increased protection of field required Stadium Field Protection Field Protection • The stadium field is roughly 85,000 sq ft. • To meet the maximum capacity of the stadium this would need to be substantially covered • For a medium sized events the field would require around 32,000 – 55,000 sq ft coverage • For small events and North End Zone stage location at least 15,000 sq ft • Protective pieces are 16 sq ft, 4x4 pieces and stored max 20 to a pallet • 15,000 square feet is the equivalent of approximately 45-50 pallets Cost – Rental • All Event Party Rentals charges $2.31 per sq ft + 10% installation fee + tax • They only have 3200 sq feet flooring, enough for small events. 11.B.a Packet Pg. 135 Attachment: Concert Events Review SFC Flat (29006 : Sports Complex Concert Alternatives) 3940 City Gate Blvd. N Naples, Fla., 34117 PlayParadiseCoast.com Cost – Purchase • Variety of vendors and types based on the gauge of the flooring pieces and size. • Range is between $10-$12 per square foot + shipping Key take-aways • Purchase of substantial coverage of field would not be a cost-effective option • Purchase of 15,000 sq ft would cost over $150,000 • 15,000 sq ft of flooring could potentially be stored under the stadium bleachers • Cost recovery through rental would need to include $1500-$2000 in labor cost • Would need to bring in 15-20 events before cost recovery of purchase • Size of events that could be hosted would not drive enough revenue for operators Grow Church Event in 2023 with West Facing Stage, 3200 sq ft of field protection providing seating for 600 SFC have been constantly and consistently trying to find the correct events and partners to work with on concert events. To the outsider, the use of the stadium is a simple concept, however breaking down the costs (even without floor protection) makes it difficult to find a promoter who is willing to take on the cost of renting the stadium, paying security costs, building a stage, covering the cost of production, marketing and ultimately paying for the talent who can drive the number of ticket sales for them to make a decent return on their investment is not easy. SFC doesn’t share F+B or reduce the rental fee to the stadium as this sets a precedence and reduces the return to the County. 11.B.a Packet Pg. 136 Attachment: Concert Events Review SFC Flat (29006 : Sports Complex Concert Alternatives) 3940 City Gate Blvd. N Naples, Fla., 34117 PlayParadiseCoast.com For a music event in the stadium to work financially for both a promoter and the County, it would need to attract at least 4000 people to drive enough ticket revenue to allow the promoter to get a return on their investment. A concert event with this amount of people on a Saturday, would require the entire parking space inventory to be utilized, making any other event, sporting or otherwise impossible. Therefore from the $15000 we would ostensibly net only $5000 as a two day sporting event would drive at least $10k in field rentals. SFC has been in negotiation with the following groups to secure the event/s that meet the requirements for utilization of the Stadium: Rockstar Entertainment Agreed on all terms for a show in October 2023. They cancelled their event. SFC applied their deposit to October 2023 and carry another deposit for October 2025 event on the same terms. 239 Presents Currently in talks for future stadium and lawn concert dates for multiple dates in late 2024 and early 2025. The rental rates in total would be more than $50k. 614 Events Based on the cost of the talent that they wanted to bring, they would need a capacity of minimum 15,000. Targeted for March, 2025. We have developed an off-site parking plan in conjunction with CCSO and have been working on a site map to use the entire facility for an event of this scope. Rental rate would be typical with the majority of revenue coming from F+B sales. Talks on this event have been paused. Gold Entertainment We did a co-promotion of the Air Supply concert in 2022 on a contract agreed with Sports Force. The settlement is attached. Using the example of Air Supply, the County spent $76,805 to make $11,073 in gross profit. This was a Sports Force Deal. In February 2024, we spent $69k to make $206k gross profit. Agreed in principle on a show in November on a co-promotion basis. The cost of building a stage in the stadium and covering field in addition to the cost of talent led us to an East Lawn show after the lessons learned from Air Supply. We both passed on the event when the talent requested $15K + incentives. Recent shows from this band and comparative acts would not guarantee a suitable return for either party. 11.B.a Packet Pg. 137 Attachment: Concert Events Review SFC Flat (29006 : Sports Complex Concert Alternatives) 3940 City Gate Blvd. N Naples, Fla., 34117 PlayParadiseCoast.com Legends Concert Series Completed first season with operator. Requested use of stadium, was not prepared to pay rates that the groups above were. Executed 5 events on the East Lawn, for $2,000 in rental per event for this season, final event canceled by operator. Plans for 2nd season, increase rental to $3,000 event with incentives based on attendance. Average attendance was 1300 for the most recent events. These concert series events require load in to start the morning of the day before the event and typically are loaded out overnight and clear by the following morning. Using the Stadium puts the facility at unnecessary risk for the field not being playable by 8am the next morning. Weather and equipment failure are just two reasons that load out might be jeopardized and we experienced on one occasion that the furniture rental company was unable to return to collect tents and chairs until the following Monday. Great Lawn To meet the terms of the PUD concert events in the Great Lawn area must be positioned with the stage facing South. We have successfully hosted events with this format, including Southwest Florida Shootout FanFest, Jazz on the Lawn and Wolf Stock. South facing stage on Great Lawn for FanFest, Feb 2023, approx. 1500 in attendance There are challenges for concert events hosted on the Great Lawn: • Power – generator power needs to be provided • Capacity – smaller concert series events 1500 < • Load in and out access – Limited access to trucks/trailers • Risk of Saturation – Drainage is a challenge in this space with areas pooling during rain storm events 11.B.a Packet Pg. 138 Attachment: Concert Events Review SFC Flat (29006 : Sports Complex Concert Alternatives) 3940 City Gate Blvd. N Naples, Fla., 34117 PlayParadiseCoast.com • Perimeter – Temporary Fencing would be required to create event space perimeter There are benefits to the use of the Great Lawn including: • Proximity to the Cove, Parking and Satellite restroom building • Logical use and integration of the video board • Sporting events on the fields are not impacted by Great Lawn events East Lawn To meet the terms of the PUD concert events in the East Lawn area must be positioned with the stage facing South. This is possible having the stage positioned on the east-west path at the north end of the East Lawn. We have successfully hosted events with the stage facing west and east with the Legends Concert Series. Legends Concert Series Event, East Lawn, February 2024 There are challenges for concert events hosted on the East Lawn: • Power – generator power needs to be provided • Proximity to restroom facilities – limited restrooms at the Market • Sporting events on fields cannot reasonably occur at the same time • Risk of Saturation – Drainage is a challenge in this space with areas pooling during rain storm events • Perimeter – Temporary Fencing would be required to create event space perimeter to access additional restroom facilities There are benefits to the use of the East Lawn including: • Load in and Out relatively simple with good access • Logical use of South Entry for ingress from Parking • Larger space can accommodate crowds up to 2500 11.B.a Packet Pg. 139 Attachment: Concert Events Review SFC Flat (29006 : Sports Complex Concert Alternatives) 3940 City Gate Blvd. N Naples, Fla., 34117 PlayParadiseCoast.com Conclusions Use of the Stadium for a concert event is absolutely in the venue plan with the correct event at the correct time for the venue, planned deliberately and budgeted for. Use of the East Lawn or Great Lawn allows us to provide the facility for concert events economically and allows us to capture the best return financially for the Complex and the County. Both sites can be utilized without the need to adjust anything on the PUD in terms of direction of amplified sound. In the Stadium, to the letter of the PUD, amplifying sound to the South would mean rotating the stage away from the fixed seats, and putting more emphasis on the field for the gathered crowd, resulting in the need for increased field protection. Ultimately, using Great or East Lawn for small to medium sized Concerts, we are able to: • Provide the facility to operators at a palatable cost • Increase our ability to drive revenue from other events on the same date/weekend • Avoid the risk of costly damage to the sports fields • Reduce the cost to the County • Increased return on investment and effort 11.B.a Packet Pg. 140 Attachment: Concert Events Review SFC Flat (29006 : Sports Complex Concert Alternatives)