Shelved again. New name for TRAC now hung up on signs

A naming-rights deal to rebrand Pasco’s TRAC as “The HAPO Center” is faltering.

Two of Franklin County’s three commissioners are concerned the 10-year, $1 million agreement isn’t lucrative enough and could lead to unexpected costs to the county.

At its Tuesday business session, the county’s elected commission shelved an agreement with Richland-based HAPO Community Credit Union.

It was the second time in as many weeks the commission declined to vote to approve the deal.

Both times it said it wanted to renegotiate aspects of the agreement.

The proposed deal gives HAPO exclusive rights to rebrand the meeting and event center on Burden Boulevard, including the 150,000-square-foot main building, ice arena and parking lots but not the county campgrounds on the property.

The deal would eliminate the TRAC name, a point of contention in the community that taxed itself to build the Trade, Recreation and Agricultural Center 23 years ago.

Commissioners Brad Peck and Clint Didier both questioned the deal’s details. Chair Bob Koch supports the agreement.

Last week, the county held off on the agreement so it could ask HAPO to consider retaining TRAC in the name. HAPO declined, according to TRAC manager Tom French.

This week, the commission said it wants language changed to cap its liability on sign costs if it exits the deal early.

A HAPO spokeswoman said the business will not comment until it has a signed deal.

HAPO won’t keep TRAC in name

The credit union has the upper hand as far as negotiations go.

It was the lone bidder when the county solicited proposals in December.

The naming-rights opportunity was advertised as a request for proposals on the county’s website and in its official newspaper, the Franklin County Graphic, which circulates in the Connell area and has no online presence.

Didier, who took office in January, said the county should have cast a wider net to get more, possibly better offers.

“I truly believe we’re leaving money on the table,” he said. “I just don’t think everybody is getting the Connell (Franklin County) Graphic. Not everybody is coming to our website.”

Didier said he didn’t like the 10-year term either, saying it’s too long a commitment in a fast-growing community.

Alice Didier, an Eltopia resident and the commissioner’s mother, said during a public comment period that she believed five years would be preferable.

The HAPO deal could return to the commission next week. In the interim, it will ask HAPO to cap the county’s liability for sign-related costs if the county terminates the deal early.

County worried about sign costs

The proposed agreement allows either HAPO or Franklin County to terminate the agreement with a year’s notice.

If Franklin County ends the deal, it would be liable for the remaining value of the signs HAPO installs on the building, at Road 68 and on Interstate 182.

The county has no idea what HAPO will pay for signs or what its potential liability might be.

Didier said he fears the county will be on the hook for tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars if the county ends the deal after five years.

Didier said he was surprised the proposed contract didn’t cover the potential liability. Koch said he’s unconcerned. The county wouldn’t end the deal early if it didn’t have a better one lined up, he said.

Selling naming rights is part of a long-running effort to offset operating losses at TRAC, which are jointly subsidized by Franklin County and the city of Pasco under an agreement that expires in 2024. Losses have gone above $400,000.

Recent changes, including new management and paving the arena floor last year to appeal to lucrative events, have helped reduce the losses, but not erase them entirely.

This story was originally published March 5, 2019 at 5:58 PM.