99-23168 RESO
RESOLUTION NO.
99-23168
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING
AN AMENDMENT TO THE BOOKING POLICY FOR THE
MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION CENTER REGARDING
FIRST PRIORITY STATUS AND DATE PROTECTION
REVIEWS.
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission previously approved Booking Policies for the
Miami Beach Convention Center on June 7, 1989, which policies were amended on October 4, 1989;
June 6, 1990; July 8,1992; and June 3,1998, respectively;
WHEREAS, at the regular meeting of the Convention Center Advisory Board (CCAB) on
April 22, 1999, questions and concerns were raised by the Administration regarding application in
the Booking Policies as to the designation of First Priority Status and Date Protection Clauses in
perpetuity; and
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach after hearing the recommendations of the CCAB and
SMG, as the City's operator for the Miami Beach Convention Center, recommends the attached
Booking Policy providing for periodic review of First Priority events and Protection Clauses, and
making the granting of the Protection Clause subject to final approval by the City Manager.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City
Commission herein approve the attached amendment to the Booking Policy for the Miami Beach
Convention Center, regarding First Priority status and Date Protection reviews.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 12th day of May
,1999.
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ATTEST:
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CITY CLERK
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APPROVED AS TO
FORM & lANGUAGE
& FOR EXECUTION
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MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION CENTER
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA
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BOOKING POLICIES
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I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
The Miami Beach Convention Center (the "MBCC" or the "Center") is a national and
international convention, tradeshow, and multi-purpose facility owned by the City of Miami
Beach and operated by SMG. The MBCC was enlarged and remodeled in part with
Convention Development Tax proceeds with the primary objective of promoting and
facilitating events and activities which have a significant impact in terms of Convention
Development Tax generated.
In addition, the MBCC was developed with a secondary objective of providing services and
facilities to respond to the needs of County and local activities which promote business and
generally enhance the quality oflife for the community the MBCC serves.
Reservations more than twenty-four (24) months before an event are normally handled
through the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (the "Bureau"), subject to
approval of the MBCC, and are subject to the guidelines of Section II herein. '
When booking the MBCC, consideration shall be given by both the Bureau and the
Convention Center management to the following factors:
a) Significant impact in terms of Convention Development Tax generated;
b) Total number of hotel rooms required;
c) Projected revenue to the MBCC both in terms of direct space rental revenue,
as well as projected revenue from concessions and other building services;
d) Time of year;
e) Potential for repeat booking; and
f) Previous history and experience of the potential user with respect to use of
similar facilities.
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ll. SCHEDULING PRIORITIES:
A. First Priority Events. Generally speaking, first priority for scheduling facilities and
dates in the MBCC is available to regional, national and international conventions, trade
shows, cultural shows, corporate meetings and similar activities which are not open only to
the general public; have a significant impact in tenus of Convention Development Tax
generated; require in excess of 115,000 gross square feet of exhibit space in the Miami Beach
Convention Center; and also require either a minimum of three nights with 1500 hotel rooms
on the peak night in Miami-Dade County or be a long standing show; both as defined in
Section IV herein, but provided that the impact of the Convention Development Tax
generated shall still apply as referenced in Section II. A Convention Development Tax impact
and hotel room counts are based on prior history of the event and are subject to verification
by (1) the Bureau; or (2) at user's expense, a qualified independent surveyor pre-approved
by the Convention Center Advisory Board, provided that such surveyor's results shall be
subject to review and approval by the Convention Center Advisory Board.
Facility and space scheduling commitments, i.e., reservations for First Priority Events, may
be made as far in advance as is necessary or appropriate and may supersede requests for other
events and activities, unless a Lease Agreement has been previously executed by the MBCC
and the user for such other event. Lease Agreements for First Priority Events may be entered
into as far in advance as necessary or appropriate at the discretion of the General Manager
of the MBCC (the "General Manager").
Within the First Priority category, the Bureau will give preference to the event with the most
significant impact in tenus of Convention Development Tax generated.
In the event that First Priority Event status is granted, based in part upon the hotel room on
peak night requirement, as defined herein and as set forth above, the Convention Center
Advisory Board shall require recertification of said hotel room requirement from First Priority
Events every five (5) years; said recertification requirement shall be applicable to First Priority
Events as of the May 12, 1999, except for those First Priority Events certified on or after
January 1, 1996, which events shall be recertified five (5) years from the latest date of
certification.
B. Second Priority Events: Second priority for scheduling facilities and dates in the
MBCC is available to consumer or public exhibitions, tradeshows (open to the trade only),
local corporate meetings, special events, entertainment events, business meetings, and other
activities which essentially draw from or appeal to the general public and/or local regional
attendees and participants.
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Tentative facility and date scheduling reservations for Second Priority Events are generally
made not more than three years in advance, and are subject to change to accommodate First
Priority Events, unless a Lease Agreement has been previously executed by the MBCC and
user for such event. However, large consumer and public exhibitions and trade shows held
on an annual basis may, at the discretion of the General Manager, obtain tentative scheduling
reservations for facilities and dates on a long-term basis, subject to rescheduling or
termination to accommodate First Priority Events. Lease Agreements for Second Priority
Events, shall, upon request of the party holding the reservation, be issued twenty-four (24)
months prior to the event. The Lease Agreement shall provide that if the Bureau has a
potential First Priority Event seeking to lease the facility during Lessee's contracted dates,
and within the fifteen to twenty-four month period prior the Lessee's event, the Lessee shall
agree to use its best efforts to move its event a few days either way in order to accommodate
the First Priority Event.
Within the Second Priority category, the MBCC will give preference to long-standing public
shows and tradeshows held on an annual basis with a proven record of success at the MBCC,
which have produced significant revenue to the MBCC, and have a significant impact in tenus
of Convention Development Tax generated (Convention Development Tax impact data shall
be provided by the user), and may offer alternate dates in a given year which may result in
termination of other second priority scheduling reservations. The foregoing criteria may also
be used by the MBCC to reschedule or select between Second Priority Events in the case
where a scheduling reservation for a First Priority Event impacts tentative scheduling
reservations for two or more Second Priority Events.
Subject to the priorities set forth above, the General Manager may exercise his discretion as
to the issuance, modification, or termination of scheduling reservations.
ill. PROTECTION CLAUSE:
Effective December 31, 1999, a Protection Clause shall, upon the recommendations of the
Convention Center Advisory Board, the General Manager, and subject to the approval of the
City Manager, be granted to recurring loca~ regional, and international public and tradeshows
with a proven record of success, defined herein as the successful completion of at least two
consecutive shows in two years, which have produced significant revenue to the MBCC. If
granted, such Protection Clause will be included in the Lease Agreement and, thereafter re-
reviewed every three (3) years by the Convention Center Advisory Board and the General
Manager, and subject to the approval of the City Manager, in future Lease Agreements.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the granting of a Protection Clause in a Lease Agreement
shall not vest any right (s) or reliance on the part of the Lessee as to the granting of said
Clause in subsequent or future Lease Agreements, but shall at all times be subject to the
review and approval procedures set forth here:
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In consideration for the continuation of a Date Protection clause inclusion in subsequent lease
agreements, the Convention Center Advisory Board recommendation and City Manager
approval shall consider the following criteria:
);0 Required usage of at least 115,000 gross square feet of exhibit space
);0 Event history and trending of total revenue to the Miami Beach Convention Center
);0 Event history and trending of net square footage utilized in the Miami Beach
Convention Center
);0 Event history and trending of attendance in the Miaim Beach Convention Center
>- Timeliness and adherence to payment terms at the Miami Beach Convention Center
>- Continuous scheduled presentation of the event at the Miami Beach Convention
Center
);0 Compliance by lessee with Miami Beach Convention Center building operating policies
and procedures
The Protection Period shall not exceed a total of sixty (60) days, plus the show days. The
number of days prior to and after the event shall be the subject of agreement between the
Lessee and the General Manager, but a minimum of fifteen (15) days shall be required on each
side of the event. Upon the recommendation of the Convention Center Advisory Board, a
Protection Clause in excess of sixty (60) days may be granted for higWy competitive events
with higWy significant revenue to the MBCC. If a Protection Clause is granted, it will read
as follows:
PROTECTION CLAUSE:
Lessor agrees that it will not lease any portion of the Convention Center facility to any
Competing Event for the period commencing days before Lessee's first show
day, and concluding days after Lessee's last show day (the "Protection
Period"). A "Competing Event" is hereby defined as an event which has thirty
percent (30%) or more of the total number of exhibitors/booths in the same event
showing/selling product lines in the Lessee's event; provided, however, that a show
that is open to the public shaII never be deemed a Competing Event with a show open
only to the trade, and vice versa. The determination of whether or not an event is a
"Competing Event" shall be solely within the discretion of the General Manager, and
shall be based upon the product lines in the proposed event's prior shows.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions shall not affect Protection Clauses included
in Lease Agreements executed on or before December 31, 1999, but shall apply to the
inclusion of Protection Clauses in all future Lease Agreements executed after January I, 2000.
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IV. DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY:
TENTATIVE:
Facilities and dates will be temporarily held pending notification to the contrary by either
party. In the event a tentative commitment is released by the MBCC, the requesting party will
be notified the facilities and/or dates have been released.
SECOND OPTION:
Facilities and dates will be reseIVed tentatively, but the tentative reservation will be contingent
upon the release of a prior reseIVation which is considered first option.
FffiST OPTION:
Facilities and dates reseIVed on First Option are reseIVed tentatively, but a conflicting
commitment for the facilities and dates generally will not be made in favor of a second
requesting party within the same scheduling priority without first offering the party holding
a First Option an opportunity to either execute a lease agreement or release its reseIVation.
A First Option held by a Second Priority Event can always be superseded by a First Priority
Event, unless a lease agreement has been previously executed. At the discretion of the
General Manager, a party with a First Priority Event holding a First Option may be required,
within seven (7) days of written notice, to execute a lease agreement and post a deposit at any
time that the General Manager has a good faith request in writing from another First Priority
Event for the same dates.
CONFIRMED:
Facilities and dates are considered as confirmed or under contractual commitment only upon
execution of a MBCC Lease Agreement by the event sponsor and the City of Miami Beach
specifYing all details of the commitment. However, facilities and dates may be held as "firm"
upon receipt of a letter of confirmation signed by both the event sponsor and the General
Manager, pending the preparation of a Lease Agreement. In the event such a letter of
confirmation is signed by both the sponsor and the General Manager, no conflicting
scheduling will be made during a reasonable period to permit preparation and execution of
a Lease Agreement.
LONG STANDING:
Long standing show is defined as one which has a minimum of 20 consecutive years usage
in MBCC under the same ownership, is in good standing, which includes being current on all
prior debts, and has paid all contractual obligations in a timely fashion to the facility. If the
show has multiple events in MBCC in a calendar year, the first priority designation applies to
only one of the show events in the calendar year.
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HOTEL ROOMS ON PEAK NIGHT:
One of the criteria used for determining whether an event is a First Priority Event is 1,500
"hotel rooms on peak night" in Miami-Dade County. "Hotel rooms on peak night" should
be distinguished from "total room nights" used, which is the product ofthe number ofhote!
rooms used times the number of nights the event is booked in hotels.
No variance from the Center's agreement represented in the above tenns may be made in any
case except upon the prior express written approval of the General Manager.
v. DEPOSIT SCHEDULES:
Deposits are required for all activities upon execution of a fonnal MBCC Lease Agreement.
. FIRST PRIORITY EVENTS:
A deposit in the amount of one day's minimum guaranteed rental per hall, or such
other deposit as the General Manager may authorize, is required upon execution of
the Lease Agreement. For events leased several years or more in advance, special
arrangements may be negotiated, at the Center's option, for a lesser deposit upon
lease execution, with the deposit balance due and payable sixty (60) days in advance
of the event.
SECOND PRIORITY EVENTS:
A minimum deposit will be required upon execution of the Lease Agreement as
follows: one day's minimum guaranteed rental for the first hall, and an additional 33-
1/3% of one day's minimum guaranteed rental for each additional hall. However,
first-time events without a past history of success, and event sponsors with inadequate
references, or prior event sponsorships, a record of slow payment, etc., may be
required, at the Center's option, to remit up to one hundred percent (100%) of
anticipated rental and related expenses upon execution of Lease Agreement.
Events and circumstances not covered in the above scheduling policies may be subject
to special conditions as deemed appropriate by the General Manager.
REV. 120789,060890,070892,060398,051299,070799
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
hllp:\\ci.miami-beach.fl.us
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COMMISSION MEMORANDUM NO. ~ ~ ~- CjCf
TO:
Mayor Neisen O. Kasdin and
Members ofthe City Co mission
DATE: May 12, 1999
FROM:
Sergio Rodriguez
City Manager
SUBJECT:
A RESOLU ION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO
THE BOOKING POLICY FOR THE MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION
CENTER REGARDING FIRST PRIORITY STATUS AND DATE
PROTECTION REVIEWS.
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt the Resolution.
BACKGROUND:
On June 3, 1998 the City Commission by Resolution No. 347-98 approved a revision to the Miami
Beach Convention Center Booking Policy clarifying and expanding the definition of First Priority
events. This Booking Policy is used to determine scheduling priorities for events at the Center,
Subsequent to the 1998 revisions, questions have been raised concerning the awarding of First
Priority Status in perpetuity, with no clear provision for review of that status, should the size and
impact of an event change. Additional questions were raised concerning the award of a Date
Protection clause, as provided for in the Booking Policy, in perpetuity.
The Date Protection clause allows an event to have a non-compete window of up to sixty days
surrounding its event to preclude similar type shows from occurring. In a brief survey of other
convention centers around the nation, SMG, operator of the Miami Beach Convention Center, found
that generally three schools of thought are employed concerning date protection. Some Centers,
including San Francisco and Denver, offer no Date Protection to their users. Miami Beach and Fort
Lauderdale were among a group specifically outlining the parameters of the Protection, how and by
what authority it is granted, and the time frames of the Protection. The Fort Lauderdale Convention
Center is also managed by SMG. Many other Centers, however, including Anaheim, Chicago, and
Charlotte, have informal policies that discourage the booking of similar events within an unspecified
time of an existing event, typically 30 days either side. Of the facilities surveyed that granted either
formal or informal Date Protection, the only instance of Date Protection being awarded by any entity
other than the facility director or manager was Atlantic City, where such protection is awarded by
contract by the governing authority of the Center.
695
AGENDAITEM.JZ..i H
DATE S" - 2/ - 'J7
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ANALYSIS:
At its regular meeting of April 22, 1999, the Convention Center Advisory Board (CCAB) addressed the
issues of award in perpetuity of both First Priority Status and Date Protection Clauses. Users of the Center
were present to state their opinion. The CCAB voted to recommend review of both the First Priority and
Date Protection issues every five years. The First Priority review would become effective for the first event
taking place after April 22, 2004. The Date Protection review would become effective five years after the
issuance of the next event contract.
The Administration recommends that the review of the Date Protection Clause issuance be conducted upon
executing any future Agreement effective upon the passing of these amendments. The current Booking
Policy authorizes the CCAB to grant Date Protection to events at the Center. The Administration further
recommends in the proposed Booking Policy that the CCAB provide a recommendation on the granting of
Date Protection of an event to be submitted to the City Manager for final approval. The City Manager would
grant approval of Date Protection taking into consideration the recommendation of the CCAB and SMG.
As to the granting of First Priority, the Administration recommends that an event be reviewed every five
years upon submittal of the recertification of hotel room usage. The review of the First Priority will become
effective upon the passing of this Resolution.
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The CCAB has agreed to further review and develop the criteria to be used in those reviews, especially for
Date Protection continuation. These guidelines will be recommended to the Administration and referred to
Commission for approval in June 1999. Commissioner Nancy Liebman requested the amendments to be
presented to the Commission meeting of May 12, 1999 and for the guidelines to be submitted at the June
9,1999 meeting of the Commission.
CONCLUSION:
The Administration agrees that the ability to review these items periodically will allow us to
continue to maximize the efficient and effective booking of the Convention Center.
SR:~:DT
Attachments
F:\CMGRISALLlCOMMEMO.99\BOOKPL Y.312
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