By: Diane Benjamin
I was contacted over a year ago by a company who saw some of my posts on the Coliseum. YES – there are professional arena managers, your government chose not to talk to any of them. The current Coliseum management continues to under perform based on what citizens were told when the Coliseum was proposed. Evidently Hales and Renner are happy with that.
Nobody, including the Council, is willing to protect taxpayers from CIAM’s huge losses. Ask them why. The Council will raise every fee and tax possible, but they refuse to look at other management possibilities. Their response will be that CIAM has first right of refusal on a new contract. Breaking their current contract over and over and over is immaterial.
If the City oversight of the Coliseum is this poor, how do you think everything else at the City is handled?
Here are the emails I received, no one at the City would even return an email to this company. There are five emails below, click on each to enlarge. Don’t miss the third email – they could have CONSULTED on operations. Probably one of the few consultants citizens wouldn’t mind paying.
I find this VERY INTERESTING! I ASK anyone who READS this blog to GO to the PINNACLE website, and LOOK at their client list OR just look at Dougs profile! One thing stands out-PROFESSIONALISM and large venues, neither of which the city employees would understand! HOW many NCAA or Super Bowls have CIAM been involved with on ANY level? Proof is in the pudding. You can’t have a “DESTINATION TOWN” when you’re run like a hay barn! My apologies to ANY horse owners.
Using professional would make it easier to book good acts. They book across the country, so they can slide them in where and when needed.
Pinnacle Venue Services would be the best thing to manage both the Coliseum and BCPA. What is wrong with this city’s administration? How rude not to respond to an invitation to discuss what this company has to offer.
http://www.ampthemag.com/the-real/pinnacle-to-manage-seminole-theatre-in-homestead-fla/
A wise old fool once said, “There is no reason to hide when there is nothing to hide.”
I’m not sure how a right of first refusal works in this case, but if it is anything like real estate, then it’s stupid to use that as an excuse not to talk to other companies. All it means is that CIAM gets a chance to match the terms of any other contract, and if they can match the terms then they get that contract instead of the other company. It does not cost anything to get a bid, and if it forces CIAM to charge less or be more transparent then so much the better. Really the only people who stand to lose anything is CIAM. Is my understanding of right of first refusal correct?
To normal people yes, to government no.
I think your understanding is correct in “normal” situations; Where the city develops a contract independently, incorporating what they have learned over the past 10 years. CIAM would then legitimately have right of first refusal before the city offered the contract to others. What I understand is occurring here is that the new contract is being developed in concert with CIAM, therefore no other company will ever receive the opportunity to bid.
With CIAM??? That is what happened 10 years ago. Repeating an action and expecting different results is called what?? This is truly insanity!