Welcome to the Tourism Development Commission regular meeting on Tuesday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. Could I have a call to order, please? >> Chairperson Mineer, >> present. >> Vice Chair Montgomery, >> present. >> Commissioner Miller, >> present. >> Commissioner Marian,
>> here. >> Commissioner Kleberg, >> present. Commissioner Shinovich >> present. >> Sorry. Uh, Commissioner Shelton is absent. >> Wonderful. Thank you. Uh, moving on to approval of minutes. Do commissioners have any additions, changes, corrections to the minutes from the previous
meeting? Seeing none, I will accept a motion to approve the minutes. >> I move to approve the minutes. >> Thank you, Helberg. And a second, please. >> Second. >> Thank you. That was Commissioner Miller. All right,
moving on. Number three, fiscal year 2026. >> Madam Chair, did we get a vote on that? >> Oh, I'm so sorry. All those in favor of approving the minutes, >> I. >> Any opposed? Thank you. All right. Number three, fiscal year
2026 27 tourism development fund budget presentation commission discussion and possible recommendation regarding the fiscal year 2026 27 tourism development fund budget. Presenter is Trey Nails budget analyst senior. Welcome.
>> Thank you. Thank you chairman. Members of the commission thanks for having me back. Pleasure to be here as always presenting with you. As you recall from our last meeting uh we went through the presentation on the tourism budget. you all had some feedback um at that time you know I think you kind of wanted to sort of sleep on it a little bit maybe
generate some additional questions recommendations feedback um for us to sort of take in so that's really the goal of uh of today's time and presentation is really just to go through that so um in lie of kind of rehashing the presentation previously I'm going to kind of stick with I think
kind of the one slide um that we sort of focused on when we went through our presentation um which was this one here um which was sort of addressing um sort of the breakdown um by percentages of sort of the proposed budget um in each of those categories. So, I figured I'd kind of bring this up
um sort of have this um in front of us as sort of our area to sort of discuss around. Of course, if there's questions about specific things, I can always try and go and recall that um in the other parts of the PowerPoint, but figured I'd kind of start here um sort of open it up for questions and and sort of gather your feedback and see if there's
anything I can address here or other staff can sort of hop in on and address. So, I'll kind of turn the floor back over to you. Thanks. >> Thank you very much. Commissioners, questions. >> I think the last time we talked, one of the questions I had is we're doing very well. Why would we reduced some of the
budget in the area that helps us do that? And I think we're looking right now. I'm looking at the destination marketing piece. And so, if that's changed, percentage changed because I do bad math, I apologize. But otherwise, uh, that's what I'm focused on.
So, if I'll go ahead and and address that question, thank you for the question, uh, Commissioner. Um, you know, as I would sort of address that, um, there's kind of a couple pieces in motion here and some of them we'll even kind of touch on, um, later today. So um you know one of the pieces that's sort of in motion especially related to um
event retention and development and that sort of category and you know funding events um is there's some changes in the methodology of how we're funding those um you know sort of the amounts allocated and I know Steve will have a presentation on that but as it was you know gone through and sort of done those preliminary calculations of what that
funding would look like um that was sort of taken to a kind of more reasonable expectation of what that expenditure would be and so um when we kind of dive into the details that's one of those areas um that sort of unallocated event funding balance I think is you know one of those areas um and so we kind of are
seeing um a sort of reduction in that area just to sort of necessitate um the reality of the math that might be coming through. The other piece that uh kind of um incorporates into that is sort of the recognition of different events that likely should have been funded originally from event retention and
development. So um you know items like tour to Scottsdale um canal convergence those sort of items have been moved up into that 9% evention retention event retention and development line um that you see there. So that's part of why that line ultimately increases but it
was a recognition that those truly do fall more into event retention development as the uh city approaches them. Um, with that being said, there's also a number of items, right, that were evaluated, especially related to um, support for for Westworld and things
like that that were sort of re-evaluated in terms of what is appropriate. Um, I know there's kind of a comprehensive analysis done of almost, you know, item by item at Westworld, right? what sort of applies to tourism, what doesn't to get a more cohesive idea of, okay, these items really are sort of tourism
related, whereas these aren't, and sort of trueing up um, you know, what the accurate um, amount of funding there should be and and making sure that that all ties out. So, you know, that was another approach that was taken that sort of, you know, shifts and evolves um, within these numbers here. Um, so hopefully that paints a little bit of
context as to some of the the movements that are going. Um, just wanted to kind of offer that um as sort of a a background to it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any further questions? >> Okay, seeing no questions, would you
like to make a motion to approve this? >> I will make a motion to approve this >> microphone. I will make a motion to approve this >> as presented. >> as presented. Second.
>> I'll second. >> Thank you. All those in favor? >> I I. >> Any opposed? >> All right. Thank you so much for coming back to clarify. I appreciate that. >> Yep. Thank you, commission. >> Okay. Number five, fiscal year 2026 27
city event funding programs commission. >> Madam Chair, we're on agenda item number four. >> Oh, I'm so sorry. Okay. Number four, presentation, discussion, and possible recommendation to include up to a total of 2.43 million from fiscal year 202627
tourism development fund for the Scottsdale stadium left field burm ADA accessible sidewalk and to replace and reinforce retaining walls and BMS. Presenter is Kyle Urban, manager of stadium operations. Hello, Kyle. >> Good morning, commissioners, and thank you for having me. It's my first time
speaking to you, so I'm looking forward to it today. Uh, with that, I understand you haven't had a full kind of comprehensive update on the stadium in quite some time. So, I'm going to fill you in on what we've been doing the last couple years and then move forward with our request from there.
So, we've talked recently, I know a lot about the uh tourism strategic development plan and need for updates and I think that's true of the Scottsdale Stadium area. In 2023, um we were part of that strategy and the big
portion of that was increasing offseason visitation to the stadium. We were asked five items. uh streamline our event booking process. Uh attract baseball league play outside of spring training. Consider use of the stadium as part of citywide festivals and events. Expand
our marketing and sales efforts to attract both tourism and communitydriven events. And explore potential uses of outdoor space in the ball field for events that do not create significant noise pollution. How we've responded. Um, our team has
really taken things up to the next level at the stadium over the past few years. Our event bookings are managed by the stadium operations team. They've been doing a great job of getting folks in. Um, we've increased summer baseball play uh as recommended. Major League
Baseball's fall league continues in the fall and continues to be a draw for us. Uh, we recently lost uh the Pack 12 tournament in 2024 as the Pack 12 Conference disbanded briefly. Uh they're coming back together in 2026, but we're moving forward with the West Coast
Conference for May of 2026. That's 19th through 23rd at the stadium. We've partnered with Dreamy Draw Music Festival. We held our first brunchfest and wine festival uh in December of this past year. All have the intention of coming back in 2026.
And event sales have increased uh annually since 2122. If you recall at the stadium, there was a very large project to build a clubhouse uh completed in 2020. The Giants occupy that clubhouse in February and March. The rest of the year, it's turned into a
prime event space in Oldtown, and we're happy to sell it to whoever is interested in utilizing it, and we've done so. Um we've gone from 33 event days total outside of uh spring training and fall league uh in 2122 to 92 event days in counting.
we're still booking for this fiscal year and continue to build on that. We're also looking to have our strongest fall event calendar that we've ever had at Scottsdale Stadium this coming year. Updating our own goals. Um we're looking for more events that activate the entire
stadium. We feel like that's kind of the next step for us. We currently do a great job of booking out multiple spaces. Sometimes it's our first space patio that we built a couple years ago in our fieldhouse, which is our 500 person uh ballroom. We're looking for
large corporate events for concerts that we dip a toe in the water essentially with Dreamy Draw. Um we're looking for full 360deree stadium use events. Part of this request today is to help us create that full circle motion around the stadium and continued revenue growth
to support ourselves as we are a special revenue fund and the dollars that we make are what we invest back into the stadium. We're looking to continue uh enhancements to stadium functionality. Things have really made a a good turn in the right direction over the last five years in that and I think spring
training goers will tell you the same. Um, people are seeing improvements on a year-to-year basis. And when you get folks that come in annually to watch the Giants play, it's a good incubator for us to understand how the stadium could be used and also what people see as the flaws that we have. Um, we've created
this building that's got an emphasis on multi-use functionality and I think that's something that the stadium lacked in 2019. Um, and that trend continues on. What we're requesting from you today is
$2.43 million to contribute to a $3.24 million project. Um that'll help finish the Burm at Scottsdale Stadium. You may have seen our left field patio area that's been constructed. Um it's added a lot of value to the Burm both during
spring training and year round. It's an event space for us now. Gives you a great view of the field through the trees. Um, but with that, it doesn't necessarily connect to our center field area. And I'll walk through some diagrams that show you what I'm talking about. We want to reinforce that burm
with a new retaining wall in center field uh that runs all the way to the left field patio. We want to repair another retaining wall that helps prop up the burm in our grounds maintenance area. We want to create an ADA accessible pathway across the burm to
create full connectivity. So, not only for folks um with mobility issues, but also for folks that may not be equipped to walk across what can be sometimes a slippery grass burm. Uh we want to create an opportunity to have a sidewalk
that connects and creates a 360 path all the way around the stadium. Uh to do this, we'll also regrade the burm, which requires us to take up the scoreboard three feet. um it'll bring the entire burm up so that it matches and it's one consistent grade all the
way across. So, I'll show you what the burm looked like in 2023. Um and I'll do my best without the ability to point. So, I do have a pointer. There we go. So, um as you can see and as many of you are familiar with, the burm was just a big
patch of grass with a scoreboard in it uh in 2023. In 2024, we opened the left field patio, which you'll see in the next diagram, kind of took over this area. And all of this unusable burm space is now space that's being utilized during spring training for concessions,
fans, uh for people to walk through. There's a huge bathroom complex underneath. Um, and during the rest of the year, this is used as an event space for the stadium. Um, and it's quite popular with event planners, and we anticipate that popularity to continue
into the future. This was a rendering of what we were looking to add in 2025. Um, and I can show you the next photo from a side angle that we pretty much nailed this. Um, it looks like this on top of the burm. And you can see it as it's set up for uh, spring training. They've got a
lot of multi-use equipment out there. Uh, this area gets quite packed. We used to have a temporary deck that we would build out every spring that was really small. probably 10 by 20 and that was full of, you know, over a hundred people that were just trying to get a beverage and hang out with one another and not
necessarily watch baseball. We've created that space here. Um, and its popularity continues to rise. All right, so the portion of the burm that we want to work on is this portion. Um, and I promise I didn't plant the the dead grass on purpose to show you that
we really need it. Um, we put in a new scoreboard with the help of the San Francisco Giants. Uh, same exact size, but if you've been to a spring training game this year, you probably realize it's a little bit more crispy out there. You can read it um from all around the seating bowl. And I'm excited to say
that that'll continue to expand as a portion of this next piece of the project. And the Giants are supporting that expansion. Um, on this burm you have essentially what we define as a walkway during spring training with just white lines. Um, you can see the areas
that are more trotten down in this photo. That's the pathway that we encourage people to walk on. What I will say is if you've been to a spring training game, you know that this area gets quite crowded. Um, it's one of our most popular pieces of the facility. And in that, um, you have folks standing on
either end of what we define as this walkway with just two white painted lines through grass. And it creates a challenge for folks that are trying to get through from one way to another. um we have staff constantly working to keep that pathway clear. And so from a spring training purpose, adding a pathway there
makes a lot of sense, but for our day-to-day use, it makes even more sense because this connects the left field patio that we've recently built all the way over to the Char Lodge. There's elevators on both sides of that. So folks that need additional assistance getting up and downstairs have the
opportunity to do so. And it creates an opportunity for us that uh we haven't had in the past. I apologize. This is giving me a hard time clicking. Show you from the other side here. Um, you can see those white lines defined on there. Now, I get out
there with the painter before games. Uh, it's kind of my my paintbrush, if you will. Uh, sometimes they're a little better than others, so please don't judge me on that. Um, but you can see the back end of the burm here, specifically on the north side of the burm, which is nearest to the sidewalk
you see on the bottom. It gets quite steep. Um, and with that, it's essentially an area that doesn't provide a lot of use. Um, it does give a good place for the young ones to roll down the hill, uh, which happens a lot during games, but beyond that, um, we're
lacking sort of the functionality that would help the stadium move itself forward. There we go. All right. So, this is sort of what we're proposing um to you today. And I'm going to point out the elements as we go, but this is what it'll look like from the ball field side. You can
see the walking path installed in the back behind the scoreboard. You can see that the scoreboard is expanded. There's two additional quesons that are added. The scoreboard gets a little bit wider as well as a little bit taller. Um, we'll have 10 feet from the concrete to
the bottom end of that scoreboard. So, there's still ample room to walk underneath. Um, you probably can't tell it well from this rendering, but that is a pretty prominent regrade of this berm because typically it goes from the left field patio and then goes straight down. Um, now we're looking to make it more
steady all the way across. There we go. From the backside, you can see the larger retaining wall that connects the first base patio all the way over to center field. Um, that retaining wall will then prop up the burm and gives us the ability to build this sidewalk. You
may ask why we can't just put a sidewalk across the burm and not do the retaining wall. That concrete and that ground is constantly shifting. And so, this gives us the stability we need to be able to build this path and know that it's going to stay for quite some time. Um, it also adds some small fencing so we can keep
people out of the area in the back if we request it. Um, there will be a gate so that we can still use uh the gatea entrance should we choose for specific events as well through the fence that you see on the left side of the screen. Um, and it also props up that retaining wall. You can see sort of the the brick
wall that now that runs into. There's a smaller retaining wall off to the left side of the path over here. Oops. right in this area that actually holds up this portion of the burm. So that that retaining wall gets repaired as a result of this as well. And I know
retaining walls and pathways aren't the most exciting thing to ask for, but it's the most important thing right now at the stadium um that I can I can point to. From the other side, you can see that the trees integrate with this pathway quite nicely. Gives you a shady walk for
a period of it. uh we would look to add some more trees back in on the other side of the scoreboard. Uh we didn't plant those this spring knowing that we were going to get back in and dig this ground up again. Um but the hope is that we create this functionality that allows
us to really sell the stadium as a whole in the off season. Of course, it always provides a benefit during spring. Um, but for our year round use, for people transportation, for moving equipment, for creating that accessible pathway that we're all looking for, this project
is extremely important to Scottsdale Stadium, and we're just asking for your support on 75% of it to help us uh be able to move it forward. These red lines are all of the new items. I apologize. I did my best with Microsoft Paint. The
retaining wall won't be that squiggly down in the grounds maintenance area. Um, but just to give you an idea of what is new and the costs associated with this are essentially a regrade. Concrete is very expensive. Um, and we're looking to do that in multiple areas, not only
building retaining walls, but also laying it down elsewhere. Um, it includes some of that leveling of the burm work, some of the DG work that's there, coming back through and adding a new landscape as a result of this expansion and creating sort of the
finished product from center field to left field that we were all looking for when we started this patio project. This gets us to the finish line there. It'll help us host larger events. Um, it'll help create an even better version
of the best outfield in the Cactus League and I think it's going to continue to build on a stadium that we're all very proud of and I certainly am um given the the progress we've made over the last couple years and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. >> All right, thank you so much. That was
so informative. Um, last time we've just kind of seen it, you know, in black and white on paper. So, this was really great. I appreciate you coming out and taking the time to walk us through it. Um, I love that there's going to be connection and accessibility. Um, I have, you know, seen myself, you know, depending on footwear at different
events like walking on that BM. So, I appreciate it, uh, personally. And a quick question, kind of off topic, but I know we when the outfield burm was redone, it was kind of intended to be open to citizens to come have lunch or walk their dog or whatever. Is there
anyone using that? How's that going? >> Yeah, so the day park is what you're referencing. Um, so the day park is open annually. Um, we do it from essentially April once spring ends through call it December. Um, what our challenge
is is because we're programming so much and people pay to rent private spaces, we close and reopen the park. Um, typically we're seeing maybe 10 to 15 folks a day. Um, obviously during that specific time of year it's predominantly
summertime and so the challenge folks is that even though we've got great shade options and all of that, you still have to walk across the concrete jungle to get up to the burm, um, and so that limits some of that, but we'll continue to promote it. Um, we post our, uh, kind of updated times once we reopen it. It's
not feasible to open, uh, during spring training and also in the leadup to spring training just because the Giants want a private facility outside of the pieces they open up to the public during practice. So, um, it has been used less than we had hoped. Uh, we'll continue kind of pushing that forward and making
sure that it's an opportunity for the public to use. Um, but we do have to close it down when folks rent out the space. >> That makes perfect sense. Maybe, you know, this is a forum where some people can know about it because I think it is kind of a cool place to go and, you know, relax, walk the dog, eat lunch, whatever. Um, so the Giants, were they
kind of involved in asking for these improvements or was this driven by stadium staff? And >> these specific improvements is driven by stadium staff. Okay. >> Um, and I think we've all kind of been trumpeting as loud as we can that this we really feel like the impact that this will make, even though, you know, a
couple walls in a pathway may not seem like much, >> it gives uh our event staff the ability to sell the full stadium. And when you're giving that walk and you're walking a client through for the first time that's never seen it. They might be from out of state. In some instances they're from out of the country. They
come and see it, you no longer get to that spot and say, "Well, we got to go back down to go over because you're wearing heels or dress shoes or any of that." Um it helps us kind of move that conversation along. And as corny as that is, uh it's really important and it has become uh kind of a sticking point in
some of our conversations with folks that want to activate across the board. >> Yeah, absolutely. And I'm sure you'll be, you know, making it known that there's more accessibility at our stadium, you know, hoping that people would maybe take that into consideration when booking. So, I think that it's another asset you can use.
>> Yeah, 100%. And I think one of the sort of the interesting pieces with all of this is we've been under construction every year since 2020 in some capacity or another. And so, my team hasn't had the opportunity to sell the space without construction or potential of
construction either. The way we see this project is our last big one for a while. Um, we think it gets us to a point where we can really sell the facility that we have. And certainly for us, I think if we have the ability to put the pedal all the way down, you're going to see 92 event days probably go to 120 next year
and then hopefully continue on from there. Um, we have a fairly small staff that operates all of these events at the stadium. There's only six on our operations team with me being essentially the seventh, but I work with our grounds team as well. And so what
you're seeing is a small group of people sort of maximize things with booking events, setting up events, running events, and selling the space as much as we can. And I'm pretty proud of where we've gotten in such a short period of time. And I think this will help push us over the edge even further.
>> Wonderful. Thank you. The commissioners have questions. What's the projected return on investment on the $2 million? >> Projected return on investment. Um, I guess for us, uh, I think we'll probably
get 10 to 15 events a year to give you a specific revenue number. I'm not prepared to do that. I could work something up and get it to you if you'd like. Um, but typically with those events, we're not only getting the facilities fe fees from it, but the primary way we make money is part of our
catering contract with our exclusive food and beverage provider. Um, to give you an example, so the amount of revenue that we make now, we feel like if we are able to get two or three concerts a year, we can potentially double that in a few years time. Um, our current
revenue amount. And these kind of full stadium connectivity pieces really help us get those mega events, the larger events that get 12,000 people through the door, which is what we're seeking to kind of move into. Done a really good job of the 500 to a,000 person event, large corporate buyouts, private
concerts, concerts that are open to the public, um fullcale stadium events, I think is where we're really going to produce. And the benefit to the city is you've got more events, more opportunities to uh come into the stadium and see it set up differently than it was before. I think Dreamy Draw
sort of pushed the envelope of what people consider Scottsdale Stadium to be, and our hope is to continue doing that going forward. >> Would it still be possible if we split the total? >> So, this um offers us basically has the
stadium paying 25% out of its budget. Um given where our fiveyear is and given where our reserves are currently, it was uh basically a strong ask of us to move to the 75% of this total that helps us
stay uh sustainable into the future. And so our ask was that 75%. We didn't want to come to you with a 100% of that ask knowing that we need to wear some of that. The hope is that this project helps us get to a place where in the future we don't have to come to you for
such large asks on projects that would help create the stadium and make it better in the future. >> Thank you. Any other questions? >> I have one a couple questions. Um when you do this project, do you anticipate increasing the capacity of the lawn
seating? Will that make it better, worse, more? >> That's a great question. So, the left field BM patio added about 800 roughly headcount to the lawn. This should keep it actually pretty stable. >> Um, you could make an argument that
adding the pathway in the back and then a few extra feet in front of the board um would create a few more seats, but it's it's not necessarily intended to be uh an attendance adder this time around. the left field BM patio added a bunch of
ability to get more people in there and this is more to finish that that project. So in tandem they do add >> so less of the grade won't help seating if you reduce the grade. >> Uh it it won't help. So the grade it's
essentially the grade we're talking about is from from east to west um as opposed to north to south. So if we were dropping the north side down feasibly you could have more people see from that angle but based on how the burm is structured right now that doesn't make sense. And so I don't anticipate
attendance increasing as a result of this except for maybe a few bodies. >> Okay. And how long do you anticipate this project from start to finish? >> Yeah. So, if we can get support um from you all and it it passes through the budget cycle, the plan would be to break
ground August 1st and be done uh by January of this coming year. So, this is a project that's been in the works for quite some time. I understand there was a previous presentation about a much larger version of this that came to TDC. Um this is the version we think is kind
of the the bones of what we need to do what we're hoping to accomplish. And we're continuing to try and pick away at that and what you see is the very scaled down version that we think uh does the best and with that it's going to help us move quickly through it which is nice
for us because normally and scoreboard's a great example I think we got the uh readiness documents on like February 6th and we had games you know two and a half weeks later so rather than having to uh bite our nails a little bit we hope to be ready well in time for spring
>> thank What's the capacity of the stadium? Like you're sold out. >> So 12,000 is technically the capacity. Um depending on who you're asking, sellout determination for baseball is always funky. It can be within like 85%
of your hard cap if you're doing it the right way. Um, so for us, if you get over, let's say, 11,200 people in the ballpark, it's typically going to be considered a sellout. And it's quite crowded. We do have the capacity to do more. Um, our challenge
with ever expanding beyond that 12,000 person capacity is always going to be our concourse size. Uh, as it was constructed in 1992. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? All right. Okay, with that, we are being
asked for a recommendation to approve the 2.4, excuse me, $43 million for these improvements. Do I have a commissioner that would like to make a motion? >> I move that we um fund the $2.43 million
for the improvements to Scottsdale Stadium. >> Thank you, Commissioner Kleberg. Second. >> Thank you, Commissioner Sherovich. All those in favor? >> I >> I. Any opposed? >> Thank you so much. Congratulations. I
look forward to seeing it. >> All right. Number five, fiscal year 2026 27 city event funding programs. Commission update discussion and possible recommendation regarding the fiscal year 2026 27 event funding programs. Steve Gigab. >> Yes. Madam chair, commissioners, we're
actually now looking for recommendations here on the programs. Just like to get your comments, suggestions regarding our four event funding programs. Uh staff has kind of outlined some considerations which we're going to be bringing forward. We'd like to get your thoughts regarding those. We'll be back next month with some redline versions of the applications, the agreements, the
contracts, and at that point ask for a recommendation to take to city council. So, some of the things we're considering here discussion here today is kind of based on the budget that was presented a little bit earlier. Uh we'd like to consider the community event funding program reducing the available amount
from 30,000 to 27.5,000 per event. And that's kind of based on seasonality research we're getting is that we're getting more balance throughout the year. We're not as bad in terms of visitors not coming in the summer as we used to be. So it's getting better. Um so we see a removal of that.
We could accommodate that. Other thing we'd like to grandfather three existing events. uh the polo event, the uh art week event, and the uh music fest in terms of event development program. Let them have one more year, conclude their three years, and then give consideration
to removing that program for next year. Uh we'd also like to uh consider ineligible event funding programs, not bringing them forward any further, such as Arabian tent support and the fourth of July event. So, so those are some things we're considering and bringing forward next month, but we'd like to just get your thoughts or
recommendations regarding that. >> Okay. Thank you. Commissioners, any comments on the changes? >> Uh, so today's just a discussion. Um, so any feedback you'd want to give, now would be the time. And then I believe next month we'll be coming forward with a recommendation.
I would just say my only comment would be summer is still pretty empty and I would hate to I mean maybe it's busy on the weekends. Um but I would hesitate to reduce any interest of events for the summer. Um going from 30,000 to 7500
seems pretty significant. Um but we can talk about it next week. That of all the other things that's the only thing that I do think is still below a 50% occupancy let's say. um for the most part Sunday through Thursday. >> So, you favor keeping the seasonality
aspect in the community event funing program. I I should have mentioned uh our I think it's two to three events max out at and generally it's two 27.5,000. We've never had a community event go to 30. I'll just mention that as part of the discussion. >> Well, I would argue we don't need any
events January through March and we we need them all May through September. So, we if you're going to reduce anything, it would be that you know, January through April time period versus the demand period. That's again my personal opinion.
>> Okay. >> Um what we see from a business perspective. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Yeah. I also want to make sure and I know this has been discussed but that we we remain friendly to new business or to new events. We want people to come to Scottsdale with new ideas, new things. Um, and so I want to
just make sure that that's kept in mind because we do I mean we'd like to think we don't have competition, but we do. Um, so I want to make sure events that are new and have great ideas want to come to Scotsville and have the opportunity for support. >> Thank you. >> I'm going to second both of those things. Uh, if we're going to reduce it,
it seems like it would make sense to reduce it at the high season, right? And then the other thing is I absolutely positively believe we should be all about still trying to drive new events even stealing some other very popular
events from the local tri-state area. Um and I think that's important as we continue to develop and build these programs. Um, so they can be long lasting and you know, corporations that sponsor these things benefit, the people benefit, the hotels benefit, and I think
it's super important that we stay in that in that lane as much as we can. >> Thank you. >> Another comment I'd like to make quickly, and I've mentioned it for a few events, is to encourage events that have been funded by the city for quite some time to look elsewhere for funds. Um, you know, make sure that they are
constantly looking for opportunities for sponsorship, things like that. So, I think to keep that in mind. um when speaking with these event producers might be beneficial to the city. >> Any other comments? >> All right. >> Thank you, Steve. >> We'll we'll take those into account and
bring the programs for consideration next month. >> Thank you. >> All right. Number six, event program funding requests. Here we go, Steve. >> Yep. Uh yes, we have three uh events coming forward in the community event funding program. uh the 11th US amateur fourball championship which is a golf
tournament NRCH Kim's ranch derby and 2026 Mother's Day slide which is a horse event at Westworld. So staff is asking for consideration of recommendation to approve all the funding amounts as presented. Uh the only thing we highlighted the projected attendance for
that fourball championship. We'll monitor that. Uh it's a smaller golf tournament. Uh we'll have to keep you know watch the attendance levels related to that. >> Okay. Thank you. Commissioners, any questions about these events? You like to make a motion? >> I move to fund the events as presented.
>> Thank you. >> I'll second. >> Thank you. All those in favor? >> I >> I. Any opposed? >> All right. >> Great. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, moving on. Election of chair and vice chair. >> We have to give consideration for
appointment of a new chair and vice chairs for the coming year. Before we do that, um staff has a a little gift here. Commissioner Mineer for your service over the years. >> Oh, hey. >> Thank you, Steve. >> Thank you so much.
>> A lifetime past Westworld. >> Well, no, I have had such a great time in the six years I've been here. Um, I appreciate the confidence that's been given to me by council and and members of the staff experience Scottsdale. Um, who knows what's next? We'll see. But
I'm leaving you guys in great hands. Um, we have a wonderful team up here that I'm very confident in and uh, let's continue to move forward and make Scott the best it can be. So, back on track. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> So, election of chair and vice chair.
>> Yes. So, we'll open up uh, nominations for chair moving forward. Any considerations from the commission? >> I would like to nominate our current vice chair Chris McGomery for chair. All right.
>> Second. >> All right. Then I'd like to nominate what? Nope. >> Not yet. >> I'd like to nominate this gift. >> Okay. >> For myself. >> We don't have one yet. >> Joe did. >> Commissioner Shonovich. >> Oh, Joe did. >> All right. All those in favor of Chris
taking the reigns, >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Great. Thank you. >> All right. >> Chairperson McGomery, I'll hand it over to you for the vice. >> Sorry for that premature uh excitement there. Um, I'd like to nominate Joe Shers Nova as vice chair.
>> I'll second that. >> All those in favor? >> I >> I. Any opposed? Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> Two wonderful people stepping in and I appreciate the time it does take. Um, again, this is all volunteers. So, thank
you again for taking the time out of your schedules. >> Okay, staff reports. >> Uh, yes. Just if there's any particular questions, we've included the general reports, tax collections, our bed tax forecast numbers in there if you have any questions on that. The only thing I'll make note of is our numbers through
December for limited properties are down about 4%. The rest are doing fairly well. I should say limited service properties. Uh we feel that's mostly related some renovations that are taking place. Any questions or any other comments on the reports?
>> Looks like none. All right. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Moving on to commissioners reports. Um I'll go ahead and kick it off. I went to a unique event um called Tea and Transformers. Um if you have not been to Brown and Second in Oldtown recently right outside this the uh Scottsdale Rodeo Museum, there were big
APS Transformers. Um we not we I had nothing to do with it. Um, but the city and I know the people that run the museum worked very hard to find an artist to beautify these transformer boxes and she did a phenomenal job. Um,
each one tells a story about different parts of Scottsdale history or rodeo wildlife. They're beautiful. So, if you do get a chance um when you're walking around Oldtown, please stop by and look at those. It really brightened up the space. Um, so it was kind of a cool unique thing that, you know, again,
makes Scottdale just a step above, I think. Uh, and then obviously rodeo was in town. If you weren't there, you know, where were you? It was fantastic. Um, huge sellout crowd on Saturday. The concert was great. Friday night was a little cold. Um, but you know, who can
control that? It was wonderful. If you haven't been, I suggest going. It is Scottsdale to the core. I think it's our oldest event. Um, so consider doing that. It comes up again in September. And then spring training, you know, was out there and enjoyed the beautiful weather and everything that is Scottsdale. So that's what I've been up
to. Commissioners, >> I know I saw you. >> I did a night game of spring training, which is a completely different experience than doing it during the day. And it was great to see how packed it was and how many locals that there were the after work to be able to get out
there. And I think we should encourage more events like that. You know, it was great. I haven't been out, but I've been blessed that I've been working at the museum, the Fiesta Bowl Museum, and the number of people that came in from states that I would have never imagined
was bonkers. We had people from Idaho and Montana, North Dakota. I I was shocked at the in in two days, we probably saw hundred people from those states. I I didn't know if there was some kind of campaign going on uh in
those states. But I got to tell you, we were really proud to welcome those folks because when you come to that museum, you get to select your favorite college football team and try to find the helmet and the variety was just so fun. We had such a good time with the group of people that came through.
>> Our demanding golf is as strong as it's ever been. And uh to Chris's point, what I've really noticed are groups that are returning but bringing friends. So you have return groups that are bringing a buddy that it's their first time their
first time visitors to Scottsdale. So, you know, whether it's 8, 12, 16, 20 guys or couples, what you're seeing are the the regulars that are coming, but they're recruiting folks to come to Scottdale to enjoy the hospitality, the whole ecosystem, and they love it. And
they abs as opposed to Florida or Mexico, wherever else they were going. We we're seeing a big this is a for for golf, and I know the resort, it's been very very strong. >> Indeed. And it's a busy busy month. I was at the rodeo and two spring training
games. So, uh, and yeah, it's just crazy. I think the lack of snow is helping everybody to come here and spend their money. So, it's great. >> Any other comments? Okay. Any public comments, Steve? I don't have >> uh no public comments. >> All right. Identification of future
agenda items. >> Yes. Next month, we'll be bringing forward the uh experience cast strategic business plan uh for presentation for recommendation take forward to city council. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the event funding programs and we'll be moving them forward uh through the process next month as well. And if
there's any suggested items as well from the commission, we'll take that into consideration. >> Does anyone have anything they'd like to see on the agenda? No. All right. With that, for the last time, I will ask for an adjournment of the meeting. >> Motion to adjurnn.
>> Thank you so much, Commissioner Miller. >> I'll second. >> Thank you so much, Commissioner Marin. And all those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Thank you guys.