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TO: |
Board of Trustees |
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THROUGH: |
Mary DeLoretto, Interim Executive Director |
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FROM: |
William Greene, Chief Financial Officer |
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PRESENTER(S): |
Andrea Packer, Director of Communications Monica Morton, Fares Director Kensey Kunkel, Manager Business Dev. and Sales |
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TITLE:
title
R2021-07-04 - Resolution Approving Certain Sponsored Fare Agreements for Special Events as Part of the Authority’s COVID Recovery Efforts
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AGENDA ITEM TYPE:
Resolution
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Resolution R2021-07-04 allowing UTA to temporarily offer ticket-as-fare contracts at no charge to certain events. This will allow entities to provide free fare to ticketed events in the UTA service district in exchange for value-in-kind in the form of promotion of UTA services. The Agreements will specify the type of payment-in-kind to be made in the form of advertising and promotional materials which promote UTA transit services to the community.
BACKGROUND:
Historically, UTA has partnered with entities on entertainment, sporting, and other special events to allow event ticket holders to ride UTA services without charge to the events. Event tickets are printed with the UTA logo and specific wording that identifies the ticket as valid transit fare for the date identified on the event ticket. This partnership is formalized through a custom priced contract that is negotiated by the Fares team and approved by the Board of Trustees. Examples include University of Utah sporting events and the Ogden Twilight Concert Series.
As Utah’s economy continues to recover from the pandemic and UTA seeks to restore ridership, special events have been identified as a target market by the UTA Ridership Recovery Team. The Team recommends partnering with entities and executing ticket-as-fare contracts at no charge for those events using base UTA service (as published on <https://www.rideuta.com/>). This promotion would start upon Board adoption and extend through July 2022. Entities using base service could participate in exchange for in-kind advertising and promotion of UTA. Benefits include:
Supporting the economy, including events and hospitality:
• Will help ticket holders commute to and from various events
• Makes events more affordable as people do not have to pay for parking
• Will reduce traffic congestion around the venue area
• Promotes and encourages the use of public transportation
Strengthening future relationships with past partners and generating new partners:
• Ogden City, and City Weekly have partnered with UTA in years past to offer ticket-as-fare
• Executing ticket-as-fare contracts at no charge to events hosted by current partners will demonstrate goodwill and contribute to the regional recovery from the pandemic
• Cultivating new partnerships through this promotion increases the likelihood of partnering in the future for the same event
• History shows that customers that rode to an event in the past often inquire about, and expect the event to continue to offer a transit option
Opportunity to cross promote events and transit:
• Partners will promote the use of transit, UTA can promote the event
• This will also help to strengthen relationships between UTA and event hosts
• Encourage the use of transit and support local events and promotions
DISCUSSION:
UTA will enter into Sponsored Fare Agreements with event hosts that meet and/or agree to the following criteria:
A. The event must require that all attendees have a ticket as defined in section 5 of the attached model agreement.
B. Event attendance is greater than 1,500 per day.
C. This authorization will be for events utilizing UTA base service. Events requiring supplemental service above base levels or surge service will require approval as defined in Board Policies 2.2. and 4.1.
D. Payment in-kind through marketing and promotions may be received by UTA in lieu of monetary value.
E. The Sponsored Fare agreement will be approved by the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director prior to execution.
The following list of events have been identified as opportunities for partnerships through a Special Event Pass Agreement. Note: the below list is not all-inclusive of every possible event and additional events may be added in the future.
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Ogden-Twilight Concert Series |
Salt Lake-Twilight Concert Series |
Hive Music Festival |
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LDS General Conference |
ComicCon |
State Fair |
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Pride Festival |
Beer Fest |
Collegiate Sports |
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Jazz Basketball |
Bees Baseball |
Grizzlies Hockey |
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Real Salt Lake Soccer |
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All Special Event Pass Agreements will be reviewed and approved by the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director prior to execution. The Executive Director will inform the Board of Trustees at least monthly of all new Sponsored Fare Agreements.
ALTERNATIVES:
Do not approve the promotional fare request and maintain status quo of negotiating a contract price for each Special Event Pass Agreement
FISCAL IMPACT:
At this time there is no anticipated foregone revenue, as UTA has not negotiated the specifics of each individual contract and the need for additional service.
The 2021 budget anticipated revenue of $30,500 from the Ogden Twilight Concert Series and City Weekly Beer Fest. Final negotiations with the above parties will determine the actual amount of foregone revenue.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Resolution