The City has a long history of partnering with industry leaders to develop destination venues, as it did on the first two venues recommended by the citizen-led Visioning Task Force in 2007 and confirmed by voters in 2008 – Constellation Field, home of the Atlantic League Champion Skeeters, and Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land. 

These efforts are part of a larger, successful strategy that has been in place for more than a decade to grow and solidify Sugar Land’s reputation as an economic powerhouse and destination location – as well as increase the City’s financial resilience through the development of unique destination venues.

In August 2018, the Economic Development Committee requested the formation of a City Council Task Force to look at the policy aspect of requests from existing public/private partnership (P3) project partners for additional capital support from the City. In accordance with adopted policy, volunteers were sought from the City Council - with the Mayor responsible for the selection of up to three members to serve on the City Council-requested Destination Venue Capital Support Policy Task Force. Ultimately, Mayor Joe Zimmerman, Councilmember Bridget Yeung, and Councilmember Himesh Gandhi served on the Task Force.

In September 2018, the City Council Destination Venue Capital Support Policy Task Force held its first meeting. During this meeting, staff reviewed the history of P3 Partnerships, along with agreement frameworks and funding sources. This information included discussion on the guidelines of the intentional strategy the City has established for destination development - as well as a detailed discussion about the guiding principles used for original agreements, which include:

• Selectively choosing highest-quality partners,

• Protecting the City's business and financial interests by limiting the City's risk,

• Leveraging the use of the restricted or project-generated revenue sources,

• Increasing the amount of upside sharing as the City's upfront investments increase, and

• Celebrating amenities through the Visit Sugar Land Tourism Program, once open.

      

Task Force members were then presented with recommended options to consider if they desire to create a policy, recognizing that any policy should fall within the framework of the existing guiding principles. As such, members concurred with a need to create a policy.  In December 2018, the Task Force held its second meeting. During this meeting, staff reviewed the details of the draft policy and Task Force members provided recommendations, which are included in the attached final draft of the policy.  Overall, the draft policy outlines the following:

• Only Consider Support of Capital Projects with Substantial Benefit to Economy/Community (Operational Support Not Eligible for Consideration)

• Revenue Source:
  • Project-Generated (i.e. Performance Based) Revenue for Commercial Partners
  • Restricted Revenue (Sugar Land 4B Corporation) Contributions Only for Non-Profit Partners           
    • Up to $200K Annually – Only if Available After Carryovers
    • (Note: SL4B revenue is restricted by state law for economic development and quality of life initiatives and cannot be used for the general operations of the City.)

• 50% Matching Required from P3 Partner

• Prioritization Criteria – if Multiple Requests Received:
  • Amount of Time Since Venue Opened
  • Number of Times Venue Operator Requested Funding
  • Economic Benefit to City Overall Community Benefit

In January 2019, staff presented a draft of the policy during a City Council Workshop, sought feedback from the City Council on next steps, and received direction to move forward with a formal consideration of the policy.  

With that, staff recommends City Council approve Resolution No. 19-03 adopting a City Council Policy regarding funding of public destination venue capital enhancement projects.