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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSCACMinutes_2007_05_31Swiftel Center Advisory Board Meeting Minutes Thursday May 31, 2007 @ 4:00pm Swiftel Center Mezzanine Conference Room Present: Tom Richter, Swiftel Center Executive Director; Connie Isham, Swiftel Center Business Manager; Jenny Hammrich, Swiftel Center Sales/Marketing Director; Scott Smith, Swiftel Center Operations Director; Rod Schaefer, Dean Gulbranson, Tom Coughlin, Deb Garbers, Barb Telkamp, Matthew Nelson, Deanna Santema, Brookings County Commission Liaison. Agenda Discussions: ¾ Welcome: Tom introduced Andrea Hogie (part time Office Assistant) – who will be taking minutes at the meetings. Barb moved to approve the minutes from 3/13/07. Tom Coughlin seconded. ¾ The Advisory Board does not have to approve the financial reports; they are informational. Tom mentioned that the previous Business Manager did not use QuickBooks to its capacity so therefore the comparisons to 2006 may not be accurate. ¾ Tom presented the Economic Impact. The Swiftel Center uses the number of events and attendance to arrive at the numbers. January exceeded budget for both events and attendance. February exceeded budget for number of events but was off for attendance numbers. March exceeded budget for number of events and was close on attendance numbers. Tom Coughlin asked if double header basketball game counts as 1 or 2 events – answer 1 event. Connie presented a comparison for the 1st quarter of 2006 to 2007. 2007 is above 2006 for the 1st quarter. ¾ Tom presented a review of the District III Ops Seminar held at the Swiftel Center 4/29/07 to 5/1/07. There were 50-60 registered for the event. It targeted 2nd and 3rd line of management. It was very educational. There were great speakers like VJ Smith and John Stiegelmeier. Tours of Daktronics, Performing Arts Center, and Frost Arena were provided. We received a lot of good comments including from the National level. ¾ Tom has been working months on the outdoor marquee. After many discussions it will be a bid process. Tom and Scott are working on the specifications for the sign. The sign will be over the square feet limit so Tom will be attending the Board of Adjustments meeting on June 7th for a variance. Tom Coughlin said that the screen will be full color, galaxy, with the capability of running production clips. The goal is to have it by fall. ¾ Upcoming events include the Arabian Horse show in the 3rd of the 4th year. It then moves to Rapid City. We can bid for it again in the future. Stan Marshall auction is 6/1/07. Uncle Sam Jam is July 4th. The Jam was started 5 years ago. We solicit donations and sponsorships from businesses and individuals to keep it free to attend. So far this year we have received $24,000. Last year $800 to $1100 was raised in the donation buckets the day of the event. One concern is the growth of the DOT property. That is where the fireworks are lit and there are more ground displays than in the past. The 2nd Wing Festival will be September 8th from 2-9pm. The theme will be “Last Beach Party of the Summer” with Bob & Beachcomers and Too Drunk to Fish as entertainment. There will also be a Brew Fest along with the Wing Fest. ¾ The Building Expansion project includes banquet/meeting rooms, storage and office space. In the 1999-2000 drawing it was designed to be added on to the East as a concourse to the meeting rooms. The City unveiled plans to buy the DOT land and develop it with potential hotel and convention center. Tom met with the City Manager and reminded him that the community has a substantial investment in the Swiftel Center. An architect has been hired to look at possibilities and provide drawings that can be presented to the public. There is a sub-committee meeting on this issue. People on the committee include the City Manager, Mayor, Economic Development, Convention Bureau, and 2-3 from the Advisory Board. Rod and Dean are willing to participate. Deb is already on it through the Convention Bureau. Deanna may be as the County representative. A safety inspection was performed and the outcome was that additional storage space needs to be pursued. The labor cost could be cut because right now a lot of time is spent moving items around to get other items out for an event and then back again. The county owns the office. The city and county have space issues and so the city may take over the county offices. Then that office space could be used by the Swiftel Center. Ultimately there are only so many arena events you can do but there is always potential for growth. Tom feels that the potential for growth is more in the convention and meeting space. This is the right time to present to the public because we are coming off a good year. Another item to look at when adding on a convention center is the possibility of also putting up a hotel. The advantage of doing both at the same time is construction reasons but it doesn’t have to be done that way. It could be added at a later time. Deb asked if a feasibility study will be done. It would be worth the money to have a professional company do the feasibility study. They could give us numbers from the area convention centers – Watertown, Huron, etc. to determine if there is enough need for another convention center. Dean asked when are the slow months. Deb said December thru February are still months. April thru September are the best months for activity. ¾ Tom presented 2008 budget process calendar. It has changed a little in that it doesn’t have to be turned in so early. It gives us more time to get more accurate numbers. The city approves the budget. ¾ Tom included the reports that he sends to his boss every week. ¾ Jenny provided calendars of the June and July events which are mostly catering events. Sioux Valley Energy has their annual banquet here on June 5th. Swanson is now Treat America. Robert is the new chef. He is very good and the culinary will rise in quality. ¾ Scott mentioned that there will be concrete poured for a garbage pad. A storage space will be created in one of the stairwells. Also, looking at a metal shelf for storing the court. The dirt comes in next week for the horse shows. This is a big conversion time. ¾ Other comments: We are managed by Compass who will be changing their name. Phil Potter and Tom have been working hard on getting concerts. There are offers out there so hopefully we can get 1 or 2 of those. A 7th board member will be appointed. Tom thinks it is someone that will be working at SDSU but isn’t here yet. ¾ Next meeting July 26, 2007 at 4:00pm.