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CASE Committee Meeting Minutes 2-16-23 FINALCASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 16 FEBRUARY 2023 PAGE 1 | 5 1. ROLL CALL Present: Committee Member Pedro Campos, Doug Jimenez, Danielle McNair and Calyn Rieger Town Council: Town Council Member Ruth Stanley Staff: Culture, Arts & Special Events Manager Danita Dempsey, Town Manager Eric Heil, Community Development Director Matt Pielsticker and Special Events Coordinator Chelsea Van Winkle Absent: Town Council Member Lindsay Hardy, Committee Member Thomas Walsh, Justin Chesney, and Committee Chair Lisa Mattis The meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m. 2. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comments were made. 3. MINUTES Committee Member Doug Jimenez motioned to approve the minutes from January 19, 2023. Committee Member Calyn Rieger seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 4. STAFF UPDATE CASE Manager Dempsey provided background to the strategic plan and 10-year vision and explained that these will be brought to the CASE Council Joint Work Session in April. The 10-year vision and strategic plans are included in the committee packet (available at Avon.org). CASE Manager Dempsey went through the 10-year vision and explained what was added and removed since the last time (February 2022) it was worked on. For signature events, Ultimate Après Avon and Triple Bypass were added and the Circus was taken off. For activation events, Egg Hunt, Winter Fireworks, Holiday Tree Lighting, Vail Valley Brew Au’ and Ice Skating on Nottingham Lake were added. The Weekly Art Expo was removed, and Art Pop Ups were added as there is room to add more art type events to our portfolio in different venues such as Main Street Mall. Town Manager Eric Heil then gave the background of the 10-year vision and stated it is in its fourth revision and was developed by himself and CASE Manager Danita Dempsey. He shared that there has been a shift from multi-day ticketed festivals and 3rd party producer events bringing in visitors to more community focused events. The purpose of the document is to look at the next 10 years compared to where we are today and decide should we stay, or should we develop more? We know the town is growing and that it is important that we provide a competitive visitor experience from other mountain towns. When people come here and live here there are a certain number of experiences they expect, and events are one of them. Looking at the town growing, we will be having more development that is above and beyond what the original document stated, the 500 additional units is low. With the amount of development and growth planned for the future, it will provide a bigger base for events. That being said, the field can only hold so many events over the year. For example, after the Circus it took the field 2-4 weeks to heal, and it shows that the field must have rest days. CASE Manager Dempsey asked the question, “at what point does the expense outweigh the revenue from a lodging, dining, retail expense due to build out”. Town Manager Heil stated it would be another 40 years and detailed out the zones that were undeveloped to help the committee better understand the available space in Avon. CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 16 FEBRUARY 2023 PAGE 2 | 5 Town Manger Heil continued saying, compared to what we are doing and what is the maximum potential, there is not a whole lot of room in between. Currently, July and August are already full, and we don’t need to do a large event in the middle of summer. Early June and after Labor Day, the town is not full and those are the areas this group should focus on. Those time frames would include Best of the West in June and a large ticketed multi-day event in mid-September. In September we go up against Oktoberfest, but Heil believes we have plenty of clientele to do both events at the same time. He continued, stating these two events would add two additional signature events, but he does not see a lot of room besides that. The council is concerned about visitor numbers, the community around the park, too much music, the price tag, etc. He explained that the bids for the restroom building were rejected but that there is still time to drill down to what we really want to see for that structure. He finished by stating we are in a really good place. CASE Manager Dempsey wrapped up with stating at a staff level, we think the 10-year vision is a great roadmap to help plan the future. At a committee level, you need to tell us what you think of the new additions to the 10-year vision. She further explained that it is a living document and will need continual updating. The Committee commented/inquired: A. Parking is an issue everywhere and throwing out an idea of paid parking near the park (Old Town Hall Site) B. Do we need to revise the 10-year plan? Are the bigger events still on the table in that plan? C. I believe there is room for Best of the West and Heart and Soul. It seems like we would be going backward if we did not implement those. We worked hard to put these events in place, and they fit our goals. I would like to stay with the course and follow through with what we identified. D. Does Block Party change our strategic plan for mid-August? Town Manager Heil responded that one of the options for the Old Town Hall Site is parking. We looked at paid parking, it was approved but the council then they ended up not wanting to move forward with it. There are concept plans to build a parking structure next to the Rec Center with 300 spaces and a parking lot on Lot B but it is very expensive. CASE Manager Dempsey continued explaining that we are on the right track for bringing in bigger talent. We have learned in spades we need a more recognizable level of talent to stay competitive with our peer communities and currently we are not at that level. If we want to start to show gains and growth, we need to start bringing in bands with equity. We are currently recognized as a potential venue that could host large bands and ticketed events and need to further identify what works in our schedule and staffing. Strategic Plan: Strategic Events CASE Manager Dempsey went through the events in the 10-year vision starting with Best of the West. She went into detail about the Best of the West event and what it would entail including that it would take place on the third weekend in June as no one else has equity in that weekend in the Vail Valley. The longer-term goal for AvonLIVE! is twelve shows, and we are currently at eleven and started the series with just four. We are now known for Wednesdays and that is what CASE set out to do. She also said that the team added sponsorship to the 10-year vision for additional revenue sources to the event. Town Manager Heil stated that with increases in pricing and competitive set out there, we need to add $5,000 to each of the local bands and $10,000 to national acts. The Salute to the USA budget was increased due to costs going up (security, fencing, portlets, staffing). Triple Bypass is back this year and explained it was in Vail the last couple of years, but the organizers decided it would like to be back in CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 16 FEBRUARY 2023 PAGE 3 | 5 Avon and council supported. Avon Arts Celebration started in 2020 and has proven to be a great fit and we expect that event to continue to grow. For Dancing in the Park, over time we would like to see an increase in guests. For Signature Events in Avon, August may have room for one or two opportunities for additional programming including XTERRA, which is not on the 10-year vision because it is not guaranteed we will get the USA Championship, however we will always host the swim portion of the Mountain Championship as will Beaver Creek. Eventually, it is going to come with a price tag like $50,000 to get it here but may be worth the investment as it is on a world stage vs. regional stage. Labor Day weekend’s signature series is Summer’s End. We got great traction the first year, this past year, the band was not enough draw to pull from other events and activities over the weekend. The concert was strategically on Monday of LDW and for the community and those they may have worked over the holiday weekend. To round out Avon Signature Events, Heart & Soul is a ticketed multi-day event in September. Dempsey explained, it is rare to launch a ticketed event and make money the first year, we will need to gauge council’s appetite for loss if we decide to go this route as it can take 3 years to start making revenue. It takes time to build a brand but could potentially turn into the biggest thing we do. Town Manager Heil said for Heart & Soul to work, we need to load up with incredible talent and make a ticket value that is worthwhile and cap it at 10,000 guests. He explained there is a lot of risk with weather and day of sales. CASE Manager Dempsey jumped in saying that you can never hang your hat on ticket sales, it is bars, merch, lodging, etc. that the revenue comes from. She also explained that the expectation from guests when it comes to a ticketed environment is the entire culture and vibe of the event not just the music. People are looking for immersive experiences above and beyond seeing a band on stage, and immersive art experiences come with a hefty price tag. The Committee commented/inquired: A. Best of the West would compete against Telluride Bluegrass Festival, but it could play into helping us with routing. B. The opener and the headliner for AvonLIVE! works well for us, it is longer than one act and offers flexibility for families and guests. C. The vendors we had at AvonLIVE! were great but can we get more? D. Look at bringing in “Soul” food to Heart & Soul, add in culture in addition to music. E. Video walls and screens were a game changer, and we should continue to invest in this for our shows. Special Events Coordinator Chelsea Van Winkle explained the balance of vendors is tricky and we are still seeing that industry bounce back from COVID, but our goal is to add more at our events. 10-Year Vision: Activation Events CASE Manager Dempsey went through the Activation Events on the 10-year vision included in the committee packet (available at Avon.org). She explained that for the Art Around Avon sculpture program the walking tour piece has been pulled out for now, but it is possible it will be brought back in the future when there is more equity in the program. The Art Pop Experiences (used to be Weekly Art Expo) may not be the right fit but could eventually help weave in art and culture to our other experiences and give opportunities to collaborate with stakeholders. In the plan there are 6-10 ticketed Terrace Shows and she declared that the Terrace is unique to Avon and capitalizing on it is key to the strategic plan. Lakeside Cinema has the opportunity for additional elements to help grow the event to see if it has longevity. Vail Valley Brew Au’ is CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 16 FEBRUARY 2023 PAGE 4 | 5 not in the signature event section as it may have less opportunity for growth due to the sheer number of beer festivals happening throughout the state in the summer. CASE Manager Dempsey then detailed out potential winter, art, and culture activations stating there could be storytelling at Lettuce Shed Lane, Holiday Tree Lighting, Thanksgiving activation, Icing in the Park which could be ambient in style and include ice skating on Nottingham Lake with live music. For the winter, the original premise for Fireworks in Avon was if we don’t launch fireworks in July, that we launch them in the winter. She stated that it is hard to launch a brand if it is a moving target and considers always having fireworks over MLK weekend and that the length and capacity of the show changes based on July 3rd fireworks. Fire and Ice is another event concept that could be a month-long activation and include a giant bonfire and event at the end of the month. Spring break may potentially allow for that window of time. A key component in adding additional events in the summer or winter is the need for additional staff. The Committee commented/inquired: A. I like the idea of the Holiday Tree Lighting with some type of “sledding” around the lake. B. Vail Resorts is really wanting to open earlier and earlier so there are more people here around Thanksgiving time. C. It is a lower time in lodging around Thanksgiving so it would be more focused on community before the holidays. D. It is a tricky time with Beaver Creek opening. E. When are the holiday lights on in Avon? F. It would be hard to pull off a whole week of Holiday Tree Lighting, but I like the idea of opening and closing events. G. I like having a week as it gives everyone an opportunity to attend. It would make it more accessible. H. I have seen it; it is incredible what the small team is doing. They deserve to get another staff member. I. The Fireworks in January had an amazing impact. J. Consider the simulcast for Fireworks in January. K. Have a hard time separating Fireworks in January and Fire and Ice. Meld the two together and fireworks kick off Fire and Ice. L. Do like the idea of ice sculptures on the mall. M. January and February are the coldest times for ice sculptures. Town Manager Heil acknowledged that Avon does not have the same walkability as other towns, so it makes it hard to bring a holiday shopping experience. We may also want to look at an opening and closing day celebration that book ends the ski season. He thought that maybe a bigger name band at Ultimate Après Avon would draw away from closing weekend and be able to be our “book end”. He said to strike the idea of a Thanksgiving event or activation due to timing. He also explained that making an investment in ice skating makes him nervous because it is rolling the dice. He stated he heard that we do winter fireworks every year and agreed. Our holiday lights are timed with the Beaver Creek ski season (Late November). CASE Manager Dempsey elected not to do the simulcast at the January Fireworks due to operations and cost. We learned that the barricade was not enough to keep people out of the exposed area so we need chain link fencing for 2024 which will increase cost. 5. CLOSING COMMENTS Town Manager Eric Heil suggested we commission an art piece for Roundabout #4 and stated that an additional mural seems appropriate. He explained that we do not need to reference the URA, the language is out of date. CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 16 FEBRUARY 2023 PAGE 5 | 5 The Committee commented/inquired: A. Some of the items in the Long-Term plan under Placemaking, we are already doing. Do we need to move those into short term? CASE Committee Danita Dempsey commented that she feels although we have completed some of the Long-Term goals, they are not full to completion yet so she would like to leave them in the Long-Term. 6. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Chelsea Van Winkle Special Events Coordinator