‘HAPO Center’ loses TRAC-tion with Franklin County

TRAC will keep its name for another week.

The Franklin County Commission iced a 10-year naming rights deal with HAPO Community Credit Union on Tuesday, saying it wants to explore preserving the original TRAC name.

HAPO, the Richland-based credit union, was the lone taker when Franklin County tried to sell naming rights for the county-owned meeting and events venue on Burden Boulevard in Pasco.

HAPO offered $1 million payable in $100,000 annual installments for the right to rename TRAC “The HAPO Center.”

Franklin County commissioners Brad Peck and Clint Didier said some people objected to dropping “TRAC” altogether. It stands for the Trade, Recreation and Agricultural Center.

People object to dropping name

The commission directed Tom French, TRAC’s manager, to reopen talks with HAPO about the name. The commission will revisit the deal when it meets March 5.

The naming rights deal is part of a long-running effort to reduce operating losses at TRAC, which have gone above $400,000.

To tame the drain on public coffers, the county brought in new management and refined its focus on wooing lucrative events.

The latter included paving the arena floor last year, a nod to the annual Home and Garden Show and well-attended Latino dances. The move angered the livestock community, which said it would take its dirt events elsewhere.

Peck said it’s unrealistic to say TRAC is close to breaking even. Financial reports typically don’t account for debt service, he said.

HAPO payments to ease losses

HAPO’s annual payment would not bring it to the break-even point, but Peck suggested it could help build a reserve fund to cover the cost of repairs and updates.

Didier said he wants to make sure the county is getting the best deal it can so it can pay for a new roof and other needs.

“I don’t want to go to the taxpayers for more money,” he said.

Franklin County advertised the naming rights opportunity late last year on its website and in its newspaper of record, the Franklin County Graphic.

West Coast Auto Sales had previously made an unsolicited offer of $1 million for naming rights to TRAC.

HAPO naming rights

Under terms of the proposed deal, The HAPO Center would replace the “TRAC” name on all signs and documents, including the lighted sign overlooking Interstate 182.

HAPO would bear the cost of new signs. It would have the right to use the center’s meeting rooms for a certain number of days and would retain some control over advertising within the property.

The agreement could be ended with a one-year notification by either party. If Franklin County chose to end the deal, it would have to reimburse HAPO for the remaining value of its signs.

HAPO officials could not be reached Tuesday to discuss if they’re open to keeping “TRAC” in the name. The credit union previously said it would not discuss the deal before the county agreed to it.

Voters approved TRAC in mid-90s

TRAC opened in 1995, a year after Franklin County voters approved the $9.5 million project.

Funding included state, county and city money and a $3.9 million bond backed by property tax levies — 24 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for 20 years, or $48 for a $200,000 home.

At the time, the public hoped the 150,000 square feet of meeting, lobby, event and rodeo space under a single roof would spark development at Road 68 and bolster Pasco’s tax base.

This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 5:03 PM.