EverBank Field and SMG Management Contract

[SunKing]

Has anyone been watching this?  This contract is bad for the city and the city doesnt even care  SMG has had this contract since 1994 and their track record stinks. TU of course don't pick up on the fact that the contract covers EVERY ,major entertainment venue in the city. Soooo SMG by default wins again!



Jags will have input into stadium management company


 
Submitted by Timothy Gibbons on March 28, 2012 - 5:13pm
PolitiJax
The Jacksonville Jaguars will be involved in the selection of a facilities manager that would oversee Everbank Field as well as the city's other entertainment venues.

A letter sent to the mayor this week reminded the city that the team's lease says it and the city will "mutually select" a management company.

That claus is there, attorney Sashi Brown said, "in recognition of the agreement that City and Jaguars have equal input into the decision of who will manage the stadium and surrounding parkinga areas."

The requests for porposals that started the search for a management company does note the Jaguars have input, a requirement city attorney Karen Chastain reiterated during a pre-bid meeting Tuesday.

In an e-mail to the team, Chastain proposed that a Jaguars representative serve on the evaluation committee, suggesting Mark Lamping. Lamping, the team's president of non-football operations, was formerly chief executive officer of the New Meadowlands Stadium Co., owner of the venue where the New York Jets and Giants play.

Responses to the request for proposals are due in mid-April. The contract to manage the various venues has been held by SMG for more than a decade.

[mtraininjax]

This contract is bad for the city and the city doesnt even care  SMG has had this contract since 1994 and their track record stinks.

I think a majority of people would agree with you on this statement, but what are the alternatives? If you are the largest sports management company, who do you compete with who can match the bid specs? Sure there are a number of smaller companies who might be able to do the work, but having worked with the city as a vendor, I can tell you that SMG has helped write the bid (even if they are not supposed to) and influenced the language in the bid. After all, the numbers going forward are based on numbers provided to the city by SMG.

So while the contract sucks for us, the taxpayer, who else can match the specs and win the job?

[I-10east]

If you are the largest sports management company, who do you compete with who can match the bid specs?

Exactly. SMG is pretty much a monopoly although it runs just five NFL stadiums (JAX, NO, OAK, HOU, and CHI); The rest of the NFL stadiums are pretty much ran by their city's, or some kinda local sports commission. So the City of Jacksonville is pretty much the only logical possibility. 

[mtraininjax]

So the City of Jacksonville is pretty much the only logical possibility.

And as we have been watching on First Coast News, the City is doing a helluva job managing the Arena structure! SMG is not responsible for the construction of the Arena, the City managed that project. SMG just runs it for the City. I don't trust the city to know how to do anything but convert Oxygen into Carbon Dioxide.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1490706356001

[I-10east]

^^^My bad, I messed up. The City of Jacksonville is the owner, and SMG is the operator, so the only logical choice for another operator is the Jaguars. The operators are either gonna be SMG, the team, or a local sports commission.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Mark Lamping
From Wikipedia,
Occupation Team President of the Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL)

Mark Lamping is the Jacksonville Jaguars' team president of non-football operations and was formerly CEO of the New Meadowlands Stadium Company. Prior to his stint in New York, he was president of the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team, a post he held from September 1, 1994 until March 13, 2008.[1]

[I-10east]

^^^So is the team gonna operate the stadium in 2012? *scared I might be asking a dumb question*

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

^^^So is the team gonna operate the stadium in 2012? *scared I might be asking a dumb question*

I don't know that for a fact, but after reading the original post, it seems as that's the plan moving forward.  You don't hire a guy like Lamping, known for his ability to start new projects, if you weren't planning on doing something serious.

But what do I know, I'm just a fan.   

[I-10east]

You don't hire a guy like Lamping, known for his ability to start new projects, if you weren't planning on doing something serious.

Sounds logical to me. What are the majority of the complaints concerning SMG running EverBank Field? I'm not gonna pretend that I know alot with the intricacies in running a stadium. I hear alot about food/drinks running out at the worst possible time during games; Are the food shortages the main complaint?

[Tacachale]

So the City of Jacksonville is pretty much the only logical possibility.

And as we have been watching on First Coast News, the City is doing a helluva job managing the Arena structure! SMG is not responsible for the construction of the Arena, the City managed that project. SMG just runs it for the City. I don't trust the city to know how to do anything but convert Oxygen into Carbon Dioxide.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1490706356001

The structural problems were the fault of the contractors, and they're the ones fixing it. And regardless, it doesn't mean that SMG is the best bid for the buck.

You don't hire a guy like Lamping, known for his ability to start new projects, if you weren't planning on doing something serious.

Sounds logical to me. What are the majority of the complaints concerning SMG running EverBank Field? I'm not gonna pretend that I know alot with the intricacies in running a stadium. I hear alot about food/drinks running out at the worst possible time during games; Are the food shortages the main complaint?

The main complaints against SMG are that they just weren't managing the facilities properly (not just the Stadium, but the others as well). There were complaints that they weren't doing their due diligence to make the best profits for the city (this will be a problem with any contractor), and that they were improperly trying to write off expenses (such as subcontracts) to get more money from the COJ. In their defense, SMG has said they took care of the criticisms as soon as they were brought up.

[I-10east]

The structural problems were the fault of the contractors, and they're the ones fixing it. And regardless, it doesn't mean that SMG is the best bid for the buck.

Doggone HOK Sport (architects). And to think, alot of MJers rag on KBJ, which is atleast safe! It's kinda weird because the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (builted by Populous, the successor to HOK), and Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (built by HOK) were both built in 2003. Apparently Populous did a major overhaul, because I don't hear about the Baseball Grounds falling apart.

[mtraininjax]

In their defense, SMG has said they took care of the criticisms as soon as they were brought up.

One of the major issues I have with SMG in running the operations at the Arena is with booking talent. About a year after the arena opened, we had great acts and talent to Jacksonville, then it all but dried up, we had more graduations each year than we had musical acts. SMG has done better, but we still have far too many shows that go to St. Augustine or further south, that could go to the arena.

Before I get the hatchet in the back on the size between the Arena and St. Augustine, I understand that St. Aug holds about 3500 and the Arena about 11000 for a musical show. I get it, the arena is bigger, however, I saw Bob Seger in the Arena and it was half full, so why can't SMG think outside the box and find ways to put more shows in the Arena?

The structural problems were the fault of the contractors,

You are right, however, the City had a project manager MANAGING the project from start to finish, and now Public Works has been in charge of repairs to the building the last 8 years it has been in existence.  Yeah, so Turner may have cut a few corners, the City cannot wash their hands of any of the responsibility. That is the crux of the issue at Everbank, do you really want the City, who has shown their management hand at the Arena, managing Everbank?

[Tacachale]

^That's more to do with a lack of mid- and upper-mid sized  venues in Jacksonville. The arena is great for the largest events (it's actually one of the most used venues of its type in the country), but currently more and more musical acts are going for smaller venues (ampitheaters have become very popular). As a result we miss out on a lot of acts who would otherwise play here if we had a suitable place for it.

We actually anticipated this trend fairly early and attempted to build an ampitheater at Met Park in the 1990s, but the plan was thwarted by a confederacy of dunces in one of the biggest missed opportunities of the last 20 years.

[mtraininjax]

We actually anticipated this trend fairly early and attempted to build an ampitheater at Met Park in the 1990s, but the plan was thwarted by a confederacy of dunces in one of the biggest missed opportunities of the last 20 years.

It was thwarted by the St. Nicholas Home Owner's Association, a handful of residents who were able to convince the spineless council members to veto the plans. Had we gone ahead, it is doubtful that St. Augustine would have proceeded.

We used to have Jazz Fest there, and now it is held on a parking lot owned by Farah and Farah, with no view of the river at all. The ultimate concrete festival.

[Tacachale]

^To be fair it was more than just St. Nicholas residents. Anti-tax groups like the goofy "Citizens for Amphitheater Awareness" also stirred up opposition, as did First Baptist (on the grounds of rock music being evil). But it was still only a small, small-minded segment of the population compared to the benefit it would have brought to the whole city. In the end the opposition, combined with the Park Service being difficult, led the city to just give up on the project.

And you're right, it's much less likely that St. Johns County would have built an amphitheater way out on Anastasia Island if there had already been an established one in downtown Jacksonville. All the great shows they get down there and more would be playing on the banks of the St. Johns River.

I rather liked the Jazz Festival being at multiple venues downtown rather than at Met Park. Of course, I would much rather be able to see some of the hundreds of concerts we've missed over the years due to not having an appropriate venue.