Franklin County wants bids for TRAC naming rights

Pasco’s TRAC won’t be re-branded under the West Coast Auto Dealers name just yet.

The Franklin County Commission set aside an unsolicited naming rights offer from the Pasco auto business that would have been worth about $1 million over 10 years.

Instead, it wants a public process that gives other businesses a chance to make better offers for the opportunity to attach their names to the Trade, Recreation and Agricultural Center at 6600 Burden Blvd.

Keith Johnson, the county’s administrator, expects to issue a request for proposals in the next month.

Commissioners say inviting all potential partners to submit ideas is a better way to wade into the naming rights universe than simply accepting an unsolicited offer.

Commissioner Rick Miller said he wanted an open process. While he welcomed West Coast’s offer, he felt the initial deal left too many loose ends.

West Coast would have paid $80,000 annually in the first five years and $100,000 annually in the second five for the right to attach its name to TRAC and for access to the facility and its parking lot for corporate events.

But Miller feared the county would bear the cost to change signs. Area businesses could fairly complain they’d been shut out of a high-profile branding opportunity.

The “TRAC” name will not disappear from Pasco. Johnson notes it is an established Tri-City brand and will be incorporated in the center’s name and materials under any scenario.

Selling naming rights is part of a larger effort to make TRAC more profitable after years of losses. Franklin County owns the facility and manages it under a cost-sharing agreement with the city of Pasco. They split TRAC’s operating losses, which came to $480,000 in 2015.

After a state audit released in 2014 identified financial issues, the country brought in a new manager, Tom French, to improve management and controls. In 2016, the city and county each received a $96,000 “credit,” representing a modest profit.

Johnson said French and his team have done a good job of managing expenses. But now it’s time to turn the attention to boosting revenue for the taxpayer-supported TRAC, he said.

A naming rights deal would bring in new revenue. It’s the same argument driving a controversial plan to pave the dirt floor on the arena side of the center and to close the unprofitable ice rink that currently serves as a center for youth hockey.

Cementing the arena has angered the agricultural community, which supported TRAC’s development as a showcase for ag-related events. It is a popular venue for rodeo, livestock, monster truck and four-wheel drive events, which will leave if it is cemented over.

“Dirt floor” events represent less than 4 percent of TRAC’s net revenue and pale compared to the “hard floor” ones that drive TRAC’s business. Home Builders of Tri-Cities holds an annual home and garden show in the spring that’s one of the best-attended events on the calendar.

And the Hispanic dances organized by California-based VMG Concerts represent 19 percent of its annual revenue. Both have complained about the uneven temporary floors used to cover the dirt, even after the county attempted a compromise when it spent $170,000 on a new floor system this year.

The primary users say they’re still unhappy and could take their business elsewhere.

Visit Tri-Cities has identified 24 events TRAC could bid on if it had a concrete floor in the arena. Collectively, they would be worth $4 million in new business to area hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

In a similar vein, Franklin County wants to shut down TRAC’s ice rink after 2018, when its contract with Tri-Cities Amateur Hockey Association expires, citing aging equipment and high costs.

On the Benton County side of the Columbia River, the Kennewick Public Facilities District wants to add an ice rink to replace the one at TRAC to a package of upgrades for the Three Rivers Convention Complex it plans to submit to its voters this fall.

TRAC opened in 1995 as a voter-approved facility with a traditional convention center on one side and the dirt floor arena on the other. It has an outdoor arena and RV park in addition to the ice rink.

This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Franklin County wants bids for TRAC naming rights."