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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
CONVENTION, SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
DEPARTMENT
DATE: APRIL 22, 2025
FROM: CONVENTION, SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: AMENDED AND RESTATED AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
ANAHEIM/ORANGE COUNTY VISITOR & CONVENTION
BUREAU (DBA VISIT ANAHEIM) AND THE CITY OF
ANAHEIM
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 13
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: YES
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion:
1. Approve the Amended and Restated Agreement, in substantial form, between the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau dba Visit Anaheim (Visit Anaheim) and the City of Anaheim (City) authorizing Visit Anaheim to provide the services necessary to promote Anaheim as a premier tourist and trade show/convention destination, with additional oversight by the City, with compensation paid to Visit Anaheim by the City set at an amount of 75% of the net Anaheim Tourism Improvement District (ATID) assessments collected monthly by the City (the ATID assessment is equal to two percent (2%) of the nightly room rate), for a three-year term which will automatically renew annually unless the Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 21 of the agreement;
2. Authorize de minimis changes to the Agreement that do not substantially change the terms and conditions as determined by the City Attorney’s Office; and
3. Authorize the Executive Director of the Convention, Sports & Entertainment Department to execute any other related documents, including all actions necessary to implement and administer the Agreement.
DISCUSSION:
In December 1997, the City and Visit Anaheim entered into an agreement that authorized Visit Anaheim to provide services to promote the growth and 2025 Amended and Restated Agreement between the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau and the City of Anaheim
April 22, 2025
enhancement of the community, promote and encourage visitors and tourists to come to Anaheim, and to promote the holding of conventions, conferences and trade shows in Anaheim. At that time, City Council also authorized payment of a portion of Anaheim’s transient occupancy taxes to Visit Anaheim for such services. City Council subsequently approved a total of seven Amendments to the 1997 Visit Anaheim Agreement.
In 2010, with the formation of the ATID, the City and Visit Anaheim entered into an Amended and Restated Agreement which, ultimately, increased Visit Anaheim’s annual funding by providing 75% of a 2% assessment to the City’s Contracting Entity (i.e. Visit Anaheim), which in turn enhances Visit Anaheim’s marketing and sales efforts to attract visitors, tourists and conventions to Anaheim.
In 2023-2024, the City underwent a State of California Audit which brought about several recommendations to ensure better oversight of the ATID funds. The Amended and Restated Agreement will continue to authorize Visit Anaheim to provide its services related to the marketing of Anaheim as a tourist and convention destination with enhanced oversight by the City.
The Amended and Restated Agreement includes changes to address the following State of California Audit recommendations:
1. Key performance indicators to allow the City to better gauge how effectively Visit Anaheim is using ATID funds. These benchmarks include, at a minimum, hotel occupancy rates, convention center bookings, and the number of presentations made to convention center executives;
2. Requires that Visit Anaheim separately track all expenditures related to the contract and prohibits Visit Anaheim from commingling ATID funds with other revenue sources;
3. Requires Visit Anaheim to annually report to the City the amount of any unspent ATID funds and tourism district assessment fund reserve balances;
4. Prohibits Visit Anaheim from transferring ATID funds to another entity without the City’s prior written approval and full compliance with the subcontracting provisions of the ATID contract;
5. Requires Visit Anaheim to develop a plan for oversight of any subcontractor and provide documentation of the oversight annually to the City.
The changes made in response to each of the five recommendations are specifically referenced in comments column in the draft agreement included in the agenda packet. Specifically, the five audit recommendations are addressed through additional language in sections 4, 5, 6[C](xi), 7[A], and 10 of the draft Amended and Restated Agreement as follows:
2025 Amended and Restated Agreement between the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau and the City of Anaheim
April 22, 2025
Audit recommendation 1 is addressed in Section 5 which specifies both the key performance indicators approved annually by the Visit Anaheim Board and those required by the City. Together the key performance indicators cover all the recommended key performance indicators recommended in the audit report. In addition, Section 5 also includes reporting requirements related to the key performance indicators.
Audit recommendation 2 is addressed in Section 7[A] which requires Visit Anaheim to separately track all expenditures funded by assessments collected by the ATID from all other expenditures and prohibits Visit Anaheim from comingling ATID funds with other Visit Anaheim revenue sources.
Audit recommendation 3 is addressed in Section 4 of the agreement by adding a requirement that the Annual Report include the amount of any unspent ATID funds and ATID fund reserve balances as part of each annual report.
Audit recommendation 4 is addressed in Section 6[C](xi) which prohibits transfer of funds by Visit Anaheim to another entity without the City’s prior written consent, except when it is necessary to pay customary and allowable expenses. Furthermore Section 10 provides requirements related to subcontractors retained by Visit Anaheim that are consistent with audit recommendation 4.
Audit recommendation 5 is addressed in Section 10 which requires that Visit Anaheim monitor subcontractors in accordance with the “Contractor Policy” attached to the Agreement as Attachment B, and also requires Visit Anaheim to provide annual documentation showing that it is monitoring its subcontractors.
The initial term of the Amended and Restated Agreement will be for three years from the effective date. Thereafter, upon the anniversary of the effective date, the Amended and Restated Agreement shall be automatically extended for an additional year for each year thereafter unless the Amended and Restated Agreement is terminated. Additionally, the City can terminate, without cause, by providing 180- day written notice.
In addition, the agreement includes the following changes:
(1) The name of the contracting entity has been changed from “BUREAU” to “VISIT ANAHEIM” throughout the agreement;
(2) Various provisions of the agreement have been edited to reflect updated practices and terms to reflect current marketing approaches (i.e. use of generic references to social media given the changing nature of social media platforms), current industry trade associations and current software systems; 2025 Amended and Restated Agreement between the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau and the City of Anaheim
April 22, 2025
(3) Updated provisions related to communication and coordination with Convention Center staff;
(4) Updated reporting on proposed Visit Anaheim activities and budget information including reserve account information;
(5) Updated language regarding the process for potentially modifying the funds paid to Visit Anaheim for its services and potentially modifying allowable programs for funding with ATID funds;
(6) Updated language related to the prohibition on use of ATID and Visit Anaheim funds for political donations, contributions or other activities in support of, or opposition to, a ballot measure or candidate in any federal, state or local government election; and
(7) Updated indemnification and insurance provisions to be consistent with the City’s current standard provisions and required insurance coverage amounts.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
There is no net impact on the General Fund as ATID marketing funds are derived from a 2% assessment on room rates charged for hotels within the ATID district in the Anaheim Resort and Platinum Triangle areas of the City.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Morton
Executive Director of Convention, Sports & Entertainment Attachments:
1. 2025 Amended and Restated Agreement with Visit Anaheim (Clean)
2. 2025 Amended and Restated Agreement with Visit Anaheim (Redline)
3. 2010 Amended and Restated Agreement with Visit Anaheim