Article source • October 5th, 2009 • Pacific Progressive
Even though they were blindsided by the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction seeming to be a done deal, the OC Fair Board pushed back hard to respect the rights of the sellers at the OC Marketplace at the September 24, 2009 meeting. The OC Marketplace is the second largest source of revenue for the OC Fair and Events Center (OCFEC). In 2009, the OC Fair is budgeted to contribute $5.7 million, Marketplace $2.3 million, other events $1.1 million and $200,000 for the Pacific Ampitheatre.
Earlier in the year, Tel Phil Enterprises, the operator of the OC Marketplace, negotiated a rent reduction in exchange for losing four selling weekends. This change of terms allows the OCFEC to take the desired weekend for the Barrett-Jackson car auction away from the OC Marketplace, but the choice of weekend would cause major hardship for the OC Marketplace.
OCFEC staff wanted to have the Barrett-Jackson car auction during the last weekend in June 2010 – June 25 to 27. This created major scheduling problems for the OC Marketplace vendors. The car auction is a major undertaking, with setting up for the show running from June 14 to June 24, car auction from June 25 to June 27 and breaking down the show from June 28 to July 7. OCFEC staff wanted to move the 2010 OC Super Fair to run from July 16 to August 15, which represents a major scheduling change. Traditionally, the OC Fair opens after the 4th of July and runs until early August, which avoids the hottest weather. The new 2010 schedule moves the OC Fair into a window that was rejected previously as being undesirable.
This scheduling would mean the OC Marketplace would operate until June 19 & 20, be off June 26 & 27, be open July 3 & 4, and July 10 & 11, be closed from July 17 thru August 15 and reopen on August 21. During this time, the slowest selling day of the year, the July 4th holiday, occurs, which means the OC Marketplace is open and costing overhead but there are few sales taking place. This schedule also presents another problem in educating OC Marketplace customers about when to shop.
The Orange County Marketplace is not a swap meet or flea market where a changing cast vendors show up each week to set up shop to sell their goods but is an outdoor shopping mall open on the weekends. Like any shopping mall, there is a layout, grouping of similar vendors to help stimulate sales (farmers market), and other amenities like food. The Orange County Marketplace just happens to be outside and not enclosed. Any shopping mall that closes suddenly or cuts back hours has frustrated and confused shoppers who will take their business elsewhere. This is the situation the OC Marketplace faced under the proposed 2010 schedule.
Hard Realities Revealed in Public Comment Time
The public comment time was emotional, as vendors talked about the hardship the strange schedule would cause their businesses and families. Jeff Teller, President of Tel Phil Enterprises, spoke first and warned of “catastrophic consequences” if sellers are not able to sell for almost two months during summer 2010. Teller was the first of many to ask why Barrett-Jackson needs the entire OCFEC and why other activities could not occur at the same time. He pointed out that Cruising for the Cure operates concurrently with the Marketplace, as do other car events. In response to CEO Beazley’s comment earlier in the meeting that the renegotiated contract gave the OCFEC to take any four weekends they wanted, Teller stated, ” Just because you have the right to do it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.”
Board members, with the exception CEO Beazley, were interested in what the vendors had to say about the impacts on their lives. To those in the room, Beazley seemed rather uninterested in what the vendors had to say.
The owner of long-time OCFEC and Fair vendor Paradise Cigars reminded the board that “stability leads to prosperity” with these changes impacting the ability of vendors to make a living. “Give us a stable environment so people can make a living,” he said.
Food vendors spoke about the difficulties they would have with the on-again, off-again schedule. One vendor who makes his product fresh every week said that he may skip the couple of selling weekends between the Barrett-Jackson event and the Fair because it would not pay him to make product to sell. ”There are families out there, and they don’t eat air,” he said.
The reality of the potential impact on families was best summed up by a long-time seller of waterfalls and a relatively new seller of kettle corn. The waterfall vendor, who also sells at the Fair, said “We’ve been loyal to you, be loyal to us”, and continued, “this is how I feed my family. There are some of us who depend 100% on this.” The kettlecorn vendor, talked about the job losses and other hardships her family faces, “I am the face of America, laid off after 20 years in aerospace….we have to pay our mortgages, we have to buy food, we have to feed our families… we are working to sustain our families, our homes. This is not a “fun thing”, this is a serious business.”‘
Staff Report Reveals More Than Presented
A number of vendors questioned how hard the OCFEC negotiated with the Barrett-Jackson auction for the dates. Staff made it sound like Barrett-Jackson would only accept the end of June 2010 for their auction, but the staff report showed different dates as being acceptable. The staff report shows the following dates requested by Barrett-Jackson (listed first choice, second choice):
- 2010 – July 2-4 or June 25-27
- 2011 – June 30-July 3 or June 23-26
- 2012 – June 27-July 1 or June 20-24
- 2013 – June 26-30 or June 19-23
- 2014 – June 25-29 or June 18 -22
The Board pushed hard to find a way to accommodate both the Marketplace and Barrett-Jackson, despite staff objections. The suggestion was to move the car auction to July 2-4, allowing the Marketplace to operate from January to June 2010 without interruption and again from mid August to December 2010. The vendors supported this idea.
Mary Young, who attends the Marketplace regularly, expressed concern that the event is losing vendors and buyers. Julie Vandermost asked if the decision needed to be made now and if time could be given for staff to find ways to accommodate both Barrett-Jackson and the Marketplace. Beazley explained that the Board needed to give a decision to Barrett-Jackson so they could announce the Orange County event at the October Las Vegas auction.
David Padilla, who is a member of the finance committee which renegotiated the contract with Tel Phil Enterprises, expressed concern over harming the Marketplace. “This (the Marketplace) is an important income stream. Decline in this stream puts pressure on the other income streams. We need to look at the spirit, not the letter, of the contract.” Padilla reminded the Board that Tel Phil is the second largest income stream for the OCFEC.
Gary Hayakawa also questioned about the first year attendance and revenue projections for the Barrett-Jackson event. ”Do they need 8000 parking places this year?”, he said, and then pointed out that the projections given for attendance were from the well established events in West Palm Beach and Scottsdale.
At the end of this tough, emotional meeting, the Board gave staff direction to negotiate with Barrett-Jackson to move the show to July 2-4 to allow the Marketplace a longer continuous operation time. Beazley was not pleased and tried to tell the Board that they might lose the show, but was told it was his job to ask for schedule accommodations.
Read the staff report which starts on page 26. Download 198_agda_09_09_SeptemberBoardMeetingMaterials
Recent Comments