HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.a. 2016-03-02 CSE Minutes DRAFT Final
COMMISSION ON SPECIAL EVENTS MEETING
Vail Town Council Chambers
Wednesday, March 2, 2016 @ 8:30am
CSE Members Present: Barry Davis
Mark Christie
Mark Gordon
Kim Newbury Rediker
Shenna Richardson
Marco Valenti
Alison Wadey
Town of Vail Staff Present: Sybill Navas, CSE Coordinator
Kelli McDonald, Economic Development Manager
Laura Waniuk, Event Marketing Liaison
Others Present: Brooke Skjonsby, Vail Resorts
Missy Johnson, Highline
James Deighan, Highline
Laura Lodge, Big Beers
Beth Slifer, Slifer Designs, VLMDAC
Jennifer Hohn, Vladimir Jones
Matt Ingwalson, Vladimir Jones
AGENDA:
Meeting materials can be accessed after February 26th at the following link:
http://65.38.144.10/weblink/0/fol/346297/Row1.aspx
CSE Chair, Barry Davis, called the meeting to order at 8:35 am
Administrative Items (15 minutes)
Approval of the Minutes of the CSE Regular Meeting on February 3, 2016
Motion to approve the minutes of the CSE Meeting, February 3, 2016 as
presented.
M/S/P: Christie/Valenti/Unanimous The motion passed 6-0 (Wadey arrived at
8:37 and was not present for this vote.)
Review Financials
Please see attachment
Closing Weekend: April 8-10, 2016. Report on additional activations funded
by Town Council. Memo attached.
Navas reported that the Town Council was concerned about early closing of the
mountain and felt that an increase in the activities during the closing week would
be important to support the businesses and workforce. They funded a concert at
Solaris on Friday night as an expansion of Spring Back to Vail that is expected to
draw 5-7K attendees. The Vail Film Festival proposed a Virtual Reality concept
and they will have a tent set-up at Checkpoint Charlie that will be free and open
to the public throughout the event. Wadey and the VCBA are working on a local
merchant program; they are not just ending the season, but kicking off the off-
season. Wadey met with Skjonsby to discuss the promotion and they will create
some stickers for the store fronts and get those out as soon as possible. The
promotions will be town-wide on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 8-10.
Gordon asked if the Town Council discussed the overall event funding or if it was
a narrow focus. McDonald replied that it was narrowly focused on the Spring
Back to Vail weekend. Gordon asked about the separation of the two groups and
the budgeting for 2017. Davis mentioned that it needs to be discussed because it
is an additional $120k that was not in the CSE budget and questioned how that
will be approached in the 2017 CSE budgeting process. He stated that it will be
challenging with respect to the budget for next year and that it was an about face
from the new event strategy that Vail Resorts had embraced and that had been
indicated by the previous council last year. Wadey stated that she did not think it
was the Town Council questioning their decisions about Spring Back funding,
rather trying to generate more leverage for local businesses in what is already a
“short” April with the Mountain closing on April 10th. Gordon stated that he is
“happy it’s happening,” but he isn’t happy with the methodology. He would have
preferred that the CSE would have been called in for a work session to discuss
the situation and work together on a solution.
Event Liaison Marketing update
Please see meeting materials for complete presentation.
Event Recaps: *motion to release final funding disbursement required
Snow Daze: December 11-13, 2015*
James Deighan spoke about Spring Back to Vail and suggested he present a case
study of an event in another resort town – Jackson Hole Rendezvous Fest. Vail Snow
Daze had more funding from Vail Mountain, it was a strong effort. The event kicked off
the season with good numbers. There were 55-60K people in town over the course of
the event, according to Highline.
Motion to approve the final funding distribution for Vail Snow Daze.
M/S/P: Wadey/Christie/Unanimous The motion passed 7-0
Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines: January 7-9, 2016
This event has been around for 16 years, and has developed a national and
international reputation. The event is a strong economic driver and provides a unique
marketing opportunity. The last 8 or 9 years has been primarily held at the Vail
Cascade, but given the growth of the event and the changes being made at the
Cascade, the event is now too big for most of the event space in town. They would have
to move to a new location for the Commercial Grand Tasting, the largest component of
event and the primary driver of its success. Trying to keep the nature of the event the
same and find a new home is a challenge. Lodge stated that she looked at the option of
using the Dobson Arena, and was pleasantly surprised by the potential that space
offers. Gordon raised the subject of hotel room rates increasing and how to address this
issue as it’s a problem for several events. Navas suggested moving to Dobson and then
disbursing the event across the community and hotel properties. Lodge acknowledged
she hasn’t had to incur a lot of major expense for equipment rentals, etc. that were
provided at the Cascade, and that she would need to find a big sponsor to offset those
costs. Wadey suggested that Eagle’s Nest and to investigate that option.
Vladimir Jones Branding Update/VLMDAC
Please see presentation
New Business and Community Input (5 minutes)
Valenti mentioned he’d like to have a Town Council member attend the CSE meetings
and Navas mentioned that an invitation could be extended to them. Navas suggested
the CSE participate in a work session with the Town Council which may also create
opportunities for the CSE.
Christie mentioned that he received feedback that the Burton US Open banners are
difficult to read.
Wadey mentioned that the Future Business Leaders of America/FBLA Conference,
taking place April 13-16, is seeking volunteers to sit in and judge competitions. There
are 60 events that the students will compete in while they are here.
Motion to Adjourn at 10:09am
M/S/P: Richardson/Newbury-Rediker/Unanimous The motion passed 7-0
Next CSE Meeting:
Wednesday, April 6, 2016 @ 8:30am
Vail Town Council Chambers