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CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
REPORT TO THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM
Report: Award of Contract for Operation of Tennis Courts at Glorietta & Fremont Parks
1. Motion:
(1) Approving the CSP Director’s recommendation to award a five-year contract for operation of the tennis courts at Fremont Park, with the option to renew on a year-to- year basis for up to five additional years, to Glendale Tennis Academy, and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract;
(2) Approving the CSP Director’s recommendation to award a five-year contract for operation of the tennis courts at Glorietta Park, with the option to renew on a year-to- year basis for up to five additional years, to Hard Eight, Inc., and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract; and
(3) Rejecting all other proposals to operate the tennis courts at Fremont and Glorietta Parks as being less competitive than those submitted by the above-referenced parties.
COUNCIL ACTION
Item Type: Action Item
Approved for June 10, 2025 calendar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On December 17, 2024, the Department of Community Services & Parks (CSP) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the management and operation of Fremont and Glorietta Tennis Courts. Any suitably qualified tennis professional and/or company was eligible to apply, as long as the individual or company met the requirements of three years’ minimum experience operating a public tennis operation with a minimum of two courts. Experience must have included offering public open times on courts, tennis instruction, and coordinating tournaments.
The City received a total of 17 proposals from 11 unique proposers. More specifically, seven proposers submitted a total of eight proposals to operate the Glorietta Park tennis courts, and eight proposers submitted a total of nine proposals to operate the Fremont Park tennis courts. Five of the proposers—who collectively submitted seven proposals— met the minimum qualifications and were granted interviews. 12 25-88151
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After conducting two rounds of interviews, CSP is recommending that contracts be awarded to Glendale Tennis Academy for operation of the tennis courts at Fremont Park, and to Hard Eight, Inc. for operation of the tennis courts at Glorietta Park.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council pass a motion approving the CSP Director’s recommended vendors for operation of tennis courts and authorizing the City Manager to enter into two agreements, each for an initial term of five years with the option to renew on a year-to- year basis, for up to five additional years, with: Glendale Tennis Academy at Fremont Park; and Hard Eight, Inc. at Glorietta Park.
ANALYSIS
CSP maintains 33 tennis courts at 10 sites throughout the City. CSP operates the tennis courts at three of the park locations under the supervision of a contracted concessionaire.
These locations are Fremont Park, Glorietta Park and Scholl Canyon Golf & Tennis.
Scholl Canyon Golf & Tennis is operated by American Golf and Tennis, which sublets the tennis operation to Glendale Tennis Academy (GTA). Until Fremont Park was closed, GTA operated the tennis courts there. The Fremont Park tennis courts have been closed since park construction began October 16, 2023, and are tentatively scheduled to be reopened in mid-July. The Glorietta Park tennis courts have been operated by an independent contractor since 1996. The current contractor at Glorietta Park has operated since March 2015 and will continue to operate pending award of a new contract as a result of the RFP.
In 2021, the City’s Internal Audit staff conducted an audit of the tennis concessions at Glorietta and Fremont Park tennis courts. Audit staff recommended that CSP require tennis concessionaires to utilize a reservation/registration software as well as financial software as part of the next contract. The purpose of Audit staff’s recommendation that tennis concessionaires utilize a reservation/registration system is to enable system reports that accurately capture patron information and revenue, and their recommendation to utilize financial software to adequately audit concessionaire revenue to ensure that they are paying the City the full percentage required in their contracts.
On December 17, 2024, CSP issued the RFP for management and operation of the Fremont and Glorietta tennis courts as the operative contracts were expiring. CSP included the utilization of (a) software system(s) in the RFP pursuant to the audit recommendations.
The City received a total of 17 proposals from 11 proposers for the operation of one or both of the tennis locations. In the initial review of proposals, six proposers (who collectively submitted 10 proposals) were disqualified for not meeting the minimum requirements stated in the RFP:
Tennis Mechanix (for the operation of Fremont)
Mher Ivynian (two proposals for the operation of Fremont and two proposals for 13 25-88151
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the operation of Glorietta)
Homenetmen Ararat (for the operation of Fremont)
Khachatryan Tennis Academy (one proposal for the operation of Fremont and one proposal for the operation of Glorietta)
Artak Harutyunyan (for the operation of Glorietta
Arshot Arutyunyan & Oleg Simonyan (for the operation of Glorietta) CSP selected a panel of three management and executive-level staff members from other cities to conduct the first-round interviews, including the Assistant Director of Parks & Recreation for the City of Burbank, the Parks, Recreation & Community Services Superintendent for the City of Pasadena, and the Deputy Community Services Director for the City of Calabasas. This panel recommended the top three proposers for each location to be interviewed in a second round.
The second-round interviews were conducted by the Community Services Manager at CSP, the Assistant Director of CSP, and the Director of Library, Arts & Culture.
Below is the evaluation criteria and combined results of the interviews*:
1) Experience & Qualifications (20 points)
2) Proposed payment to the City (20 points)
3) Range of services (15 points)
4) Daily Operational Plan (15 points)
5) Advertising and marketing (15 points)
*The points listed below are an average assigned by each interviewer. The interview panels were unanimous in their ranking orders.
Round #1 Scores:
Proposers for Fremont operation:
Glendale
Tennis
Academy
Hard Eight,
Inc.
iTennis LA Tennis, Inc.
Total Points
(85 points)
78.66 77 76.5 71.33
Proposers for Glorietta operation:
Hard Eight,
Inc.
LA Tennis, Inc. Vigen
Khanlarian
Total Points
(85 points)
77 71.66 61.33
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Round #2 Scores:
Proposers for Fremont operation:
Glendale
Tennis
Academy
Hard Eight,
Inc.
iTennis
Total Points
(85 points)
78.33 71.66 54.33
Proposers for Glorietta operation:
Hard Eight,
Inc.
Vigen
Khanlarian
LA Tennis, Inc.
Total Points
(85 points)
76 62.66 59
The interview panels weighed the financial aspects of each proposal with the proposer’s ability to provide quality programming to the residents of Glendale. The value of meeting the needs of the existing customers at both sites, combined with the ability and desire to increase programming and outreach to new clients and residents was evaluated with each proposer.
Proposers were invited to submit a proposal for operation of one or both sets of courts.
Based on the interviews and each proposal’s satisfaction of the criteria, Glendale Tennis Academy was the highest-ranking proposer for operation of the tennis courts at Fremont Park and is therefore recommended to continue operating there under a new contract.
Hard Eight, Inc. was the highest-ranking proposer for operation of the tennis courts at Glorietta Park, and is therefore recommended for award of a new contract to operate there.
Glendale Tennis Academy proposed to pay a lower base amount than some of the other proposers, but GTA presented a comprehensive plan for operation of the courts that includes free time, pickleball hours, and lessons for all ages. GTA is the same vendor that had the contract prior to construction, and its history with the City and community at Fremont Park is positive.
Hard Eight’s proposal for operation of the tennis courts at Glorietta Park provided the most detailed and comprehensive plan for new and continuing programs at the facility.
New program proposals include social hours, free court time to the public, and a strong marketing plan to advertise new programs. This will be a new vendor to the location. The current vendor, Vigen Khanlarian, also submitted a proposal; however, he did not effectively communicate his proposed court rental and lesson fees, payment to the City, or marketing plans during the interview or in his proposal. It was unclear from his proposal or interviews if courts would be available for free to the community, and his proposal offered no new programs or a marketing plan to invite new players or programs to the 15 25-88151
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courts. His proposed base payment to the City was higher than that of Hard Eight; however, he offered no percentage of gross revenue, while Hard Eight proposed to pay 5% of gross revenue on top of its base payment. The percentage of gross revenue allows for a higher overall payment to the City with reduced payments in colder months.
The recommended vendors propose to pay the following revenue to the City of Glendale for the contract period:
Glendale Tennis Academy (Fremont Tennis Courts)
Monthly Rent - $6,300
Percentage of Gross Revenue – 5%
Projected Annual Gross Revenue - $720,000 (year 1) - $860,000 (year 5) Projected Annual Revenue to City (Rent plus 5% of Gross Revenue) - $111,600 (year 1) - $118,600 (year 5)
Hard Eight, Inc. (Glorietta Tennis Courts)
Monthly Rent - $2,000 (year 1) - $2,431 (year 5)
Percentage of Gross Revenue – 5%
Projected Annual Gross Revenue - $247,400 (year 1) - $300,721 (year 5) Projected Annual Revenue to City (Rent plus 5% of Gross Revenue) - $36,370 (year 1) - $44,208 (year 5)
The contract term for Fremont Park will become effective after completion of the construction project, which is anticipated in mid-July, 2025. The new contract term for Glorietta is anticipated to begin on September 1, 2025.
The recommended contract term for each operation is five years, and the City has the option of renewing each contract annually on a year-to-year basis, up to five additional times. The performance of the contract will be monitored and overseen by the Community Services Manager at the Glendale Sports Complex.
STAKEHOLDERS/OUTREACH
The Community Services & Parks Department provides outdoor recreational activities throughout the City to improve the quality of life for residents and visitors. By utilizing vendors to oversee the operation of tennis activities at Fremont and Glorietta Parks, staff ensures that quality tennis lessons and programs can be offered, and reservations taken and made by the community, at a price-point similar to that in other cities in the area, without the need to hire additional City staff to operate the courts internally.
Stakeholders include City employees, residents and visitors to City facilities.
Staff advertised the RFP on the City’s website, the CSP monthly newsletter, and social media. Staff also reached out directly to all proposers from the previous RFP in 2014. In addition, staff kept a list of all inquiries made throughout the past 10 years and ensured that inquiring parties were notified directly of the RFP. 16 25-88151
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FISCAL IMPACT
There is no cost to the City for the award of the contracts at Fremont and Glorietta Parks. The City will generate the following concession revenue annually for the General Fund:
Fremont Park: $75,600 base pay, plus 5%
Glorietta Park: $24,000 base pay, plus 5%
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CEQA/NEPA)
The action being considered is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 in that consists of the operation, repair, or maintenance of existing public facilities involving negligible or no expansion of former use. Moreover, because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, it is exempt from CEQA. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).)
CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE
In accordance with the City Campaign Finance Ordinance No. 5744, the following are the names and business addresses of the members of the board of directors, the chairperson, CEO, COO, CFO, Subcontractors and any person or entity with more than 10% interest in the company proposed for contract in this Agenda Item Report:
Officers of Glendale Tennis Academy:
Full Name Title Business Address City State Zip
Armen Mendelyan CEO/Founder 13407 Hartland St. Valley
Glen CA 91405
Gevorg Grigoryan Owner/Coach 525 Spencer St. Glendale CA 91202 Officers of Hard Eight, Inc.:
Full Name Title Business Address City State Zip
Jessica Pratt CEO 2340 Shields St. La
Crescenta CA 91214
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
1) The City Council may consider re-issuing an RFP with amended requirements and/or criteria.
2) The City Council may consider rejecting proposals submitted by one or both of the recommended vendors and directing staff to contract with (an)other qualified proposer(s) to operate one or both of the tennis locations. 3) The City Council may consider any other alternative not proposed by staff.
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
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Submitted by:
Onnig Bulanikian, Director of Community Services & Parks Prepared by:
Gabrielle Goglia, Community Services Manager
Tereza Aleksanian, Assistant Director of Community Services & Parks Approved by:
Roubik R. Golanian, P.E., City Manager
EXHIBITS/ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit 1: Tennis Operations at Fremont & Glorietta Parks Request for Proposals