To: Dr. Beverly Brown, Community & Economic Development Committee Chairperson
From: Joshua Freeman, Director of Administration
title
RE: Approval of an agreement between Genesee County and Wayman Britt Enterprises to provide for the creation of the Genesee County Sports & Entertainment Commission; the cost of this agreement will be paid for from the Accommodation Tax Fund
recommendation
BOARD ACTION REQUESTED:
Approval of an agreement between Genesee County and Wayman Britt Enterprises to provide consulting services to create the Genesee County Sports & Entertainment Commission.
BACKGROUND:
The Board of Commissioners has entertained the creation of a sports facility that would be used for travel sports, local sporting opportunities, and partnerships with local stakeholders to create economic benefits for the County. Last month, the Board of Commissioners approved the creation of a Sports & Entertainment Commission that would oversee the implementation of programming to capture a greater share of the of this economic driver.
DISCUSSION:
In discussing a path forward, Genesee County was approached by former Kent County Administrator, Wayman Britt, to help create a model in Genesee County that would replicate the West Michigan Sports Commission. Mr. Britt was instrumental in providing the data and reasoning that ultimately led to the creation of the Commission in Kent County. Several commissioners conducted a site visit in Kent County in April. During that visit, the group heard from several former Kent County commissioners, the director of the Commission, as well as the former director of the local CVB. In addition to those discussions, the group visited the outdoor sports complex in Portage. After that meeting, there was further discussion with Mr. Britt and Mr. Wilson about the prospects of moving forward with this process. Commissioners asked that a draft contract be presented for consideration by the full Board of Commissioners.
IMPACT ON HUMAN RES...
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