REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on an Agreement with Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. (JLL) for Consulting Services for the Development, Implementation and Operation of Comprehensive Tourism Strategy
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Promote and Enhance Economic, Housing and Transportation Development
Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency
BACKGROUND
For more than two decades, the City provided funding to the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) to manage and operate the Santa Clara Convention Center and to provide Convention and Visitors' Bureau (CVB) services. In 2017, Council reviewed Convention Center and CVB models of operation that could help to increase business and visitors, maximize fiscal performance, and enhance the community. Council's vision was to promote the City as a premiere Silicon Valley destination for business and leisure travel which in turn would bring economic benefit to the City overall.
By 2018, Council authorized a series of actions which has allowed for a complete restructure of Convention Center and convention-visitor marketing operations. Since that time a number of significant steps have been taken to create and implement a new operating model for the Convention Center and a new governance structure for overall destination marketing services. These milestones include:
* September 2018 - Completion of TAP audit titled "Santa Clara Convention Center and Convention-Visitors Bureau: Restructuring Operations Can Strengthen Accountability, Performance and Revenue".
* February 2019 - Completion of a competitive RFP process for the management and operation of the Santa Clara Convention Center and development of a Management Agreement. This resulted in the successful selection of Global Spectrum L.P. dba Spectra Venue Management (Spectra).
* April 2019 - Council approved a governance model that established the City as the authority to have direct oversight of Spectra (as the Convention Center operator; the CVB (as the offici...
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