Spectra getting green light
Council votes to skip tender, extend contract by 10 years
Spectra Venue Management received a huge vote of confidence Tuesday from the City of Penticton. Spectra received a 10-year extension on its management contract of the South Okanagan Events Centre, as council voted to bypass the lengthy and costly tender process.
Since 2008, the company (previously known as Global Spectrum) has managed the South Okanagan Events Centre, Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, and Memorial Arena, which are owned by the City of Penticton.
Consultant Jonathan Huggett told council that Spectra offers local knowledge of the area and positive relationships.
When the contract was last put out to tender in 2013, there were three applicants — RG Properties, which operates major arenas in Kelowna and Victoria, SMG World, and Spectra. Huggett praised the work of RG Properties, but said Penticton and Kelowna are in competition for many concerts and events and it would be better to separate the SOEC from Prospera Place.
“There is already a competition between the two cities,” Huggett said. “We’ve been down that road before and we know full well what the answer will be. (To go to tender), that would be a bogus competition. We know who’s going to respond and we know what the outcome will likely be.”
Huggett said the SOEC has a proven track record under Spectra’s management.
In 2014, the complex hosted 163 special events, which increased to 245 by 2017. During that time, the operating deficit was reduced by eight per cent. (The complex runs on a $1.1-million annual deficit.)
They also employ 378 locally, and the complex creates millions of dollars in direct and indirect revenue for the city.
Huggett said there are escape clauses in the contract if in the “unlikely event” the city is unhappy with the service.
Performance bonuses and penalties are built into the contract. According to city finance manager Jim Bauer, Spectra has never been penalized and for the past five years has hit targets and received between $70,000 and $120,000 in annual bonuses.
Councillors had many kind words for Spectra and its general manager, Dean Clarke, who sat in the gallery with other employees.
“The old adage is when it ain’t broken, don’t fix it,” Coun. Campbell Watt said.
“This is running fantastically well, why change it? Mr. Clarke and his team do an amazing job and they have proven themselves as effective operators and a great partner of the city.”