City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: OCTOBER 20, 2026 FROM: GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WARD: 1
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION FROM CONVENTION CENTER FUND BALANCE IN THE AMOUNT OF $79,750 PLUS 15% CONTINGENCY IN THE AMOUNT OF $11,963 FOR CONVENTION CENTER OPERATOR PROCUREMENT CONSULTANT SERVICES – SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION ISSUE:
Authorize a supplemental appropriation from Convention Center Fund Balance in the amount of $79,750 plus 15% contingency in the amount of $11,963 for Convention Center operator procurement consultant services.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, with at least five affirmative votes, authorize the Chief Financial Officer, or designee, to record a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $91,713 in the Convention Center Fund, General Services, Professional Services expenditure account from available fund balance, for Convention Center operator procurement consultant services.
BACKGROUND:
The City’s current Qualified Management Agreement (QMA) for the Riverside Convention Center was originally executed in September 2013 and expires on June 30, 2028. Under the existing QMA, the City is required to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) by December 2026 to procure a management firm to operate the Convention Center following expiration of the current agreement.
To assist with this specialized procurement, the City issued RFP No. 2551, Consultant Services to Obtain a Convention Center Management Operator, seeking a consultant with demonstrated experience in convention center operations, public-private partnership procurement, and municipal facility management contracts. The selected consultant will serve as the City’s technical advisor throughout the operator procurement and negotiation process.
DISCUSSION:
The consultant will provide specialized industry expertise throughout the development and implementation of the Convention Center operator procurement. The scope of services includes review of existing Convention Center operations and agreements; market assessment and benchmarking; development of the procurement strategy; preparation of the operator RFP and related documents; solicitation administration support; proposal evaluation and interviews; negotiation support; and assistance with finalizing the management agreement and transition planning.
The consultant will also prepare key deliverables, including an existing conditions memorandum, market and benchmarking report, procurement strategy memorandum, procurement package, evaluation report, negotiation support, and final agreement and implementation recommendations.
The proposal from Venue Solutions Group, LLC, (VSG) demonstrated strong, hands-on experience with convention center and venue management, operator procurement, and public-sector venues. Based on the results of the competitive procurement, the General Services Department intends to enter into a professional consultant services agreement with VSG. The proposed agreement is within the City Manager’s existing contracting authority for professional services. However, sufficient appropriation is not currently available in the applicable budget to fund the services. City Council approval of the requested supplemental appropriation is necessary to establish the expenditure authority for the agreement.
The consultant’s engagement is particularly important given the City’s approaching deadline to issue the operator RFP. Retaining the consultant at this stage will allow the City to benefit from specialized convention center procurement expertise during development of the solicitation and, subsequently, during proposal evaluation and negotiation of the new management agreement.
Purchasing Overview
On June 17, 2026, the City’s Purchasing Division (Purchasing) issued Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2551 on PlanetBids seeking prospective proposers to provide Consultant Services to Obtain a Convention Center Management Operator.
The solicitation notification is summarized in the table below:
Action
Number of Vendors
External Vendors Notified
500
City of Riverside Vendors Notified
1032
Vendors who downloaded the RFP
24 Proposals received
3 A non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting was held on June 24, 2026, with four vendors in attendance. A total of nine (9) questions were received from prospective proposers, and one addendum was posted. RFP No. 2551 closed on July 22, 2026, with a total of three responses. All responses were found to be responsive and responsible.
Under the guidance of Purchasing, three (3) City staff from General Services evaluated the proposals for one round, which resulted in Venue Solutions Group, LLC ranking No. 1. The evaluation criteria, total points and rankings for each evaluation round are summarized in the tables below.
Round 1 – Evaluation Criteria
Vendor
Location
Proposed Cost
Evaluation Scores
Rank
Venue Solutions Group, LLC
Brentwood, TN
$79,750
868.67
1 Hunden Strategic Partners
Chicago, IL
$97,895
847.83
2 Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc.
Washington, DC
$99,500
798.05
3 Following the evaluation, Venue Solutions Group, LLC, was selected as the most qualified company to perform the requirements of the RFP.
This action is pursuant to Purchasing Resolution 24421, Section 508 which states, “Contracts procured through Formal Procurement shall be awarded by the Awarding Entity to the Lowest Responsive and Responsible Bidder, except that…(c) Contracts procured through Formal Procurement for Services or Professional Services, where a Request for Proposals or Request for Qualifications was used to solicit Bids, shall be awarded by the Awarding Entity in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in the Request for Proposals or Request for Qualifications…” The Purchasing Manager concurs that the recommended action is compliant with Purchasing Resolution 24421.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of this action is $91,713, which includes 15% contingency of $11,963. Upon City Council approval a supplemental appropriation of $91,713 will be recorded in the Convention Center Fund, General Services, Professional Services account 2250000-421000 from Convention Center available fund balance. There are sufficient funds to cover the supplement appropriation in this fund.
Approved by: Lee Withers, General Services Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Julie Nemes, Finance Director
Approved by: Edward Enriquez, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
Approved as to form: James Johnson, City Attorney
Supplemental Appropriation for Convention Center RFP Preparation Consultant Services ● Page 3