Civic
Auditorium
Exclusive Negotiations
Agreement
First Modification Request
Administrative Item: 11.C.
City Council Meeting
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• Current assessment process with RPG began back on December 12, 2023 • At that time, City Council directed that staff initiate a request for letters of interest in redeveloping the Civic Auditorium site • RPG was eventually identified as the entity with which the City would engage exclusive negotiations on July 23, 2024
• RPG is comprised of three entities, including Make Good Group, Azoff Company / Oak View Group, and Live Nation • Discussions w/ RPG regarding development of the ENA were cumbersome • The City submitted the ENA to RPG on July 31, 2024
• Staff attempted to engage w/ RPG on at least 5 occasions to finalize the ENA in August, September, and October 2024 • Eventually, on October 14, 2024, staff and RPG engaged together with the Coastal Commission, and at that point, RPG confirmed they were working on ENA redlines
• ENA redlines were submitted by RPG back to the City on October 25, 2024, and the City provided responses and counter provisions back to RPG on November 8, 2024 • The City attempted to connect with RPG on the ENA on November 18, December 5, and December 10, 2024 ENA Development Background
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• Eventually, on December 13, RPG indicated they would have concept designs by the end of January 2025, with a pro forma developed by Q2-2025 • To facilitate this process, RPG requested a 9-month ENA term, which the City considered and approved on December 17, 2024
• At that time, the City Council also provided a deadline to execute the ENA by January 27, 2025 • However, on January 27, 2025, RPG requested that the City provide an additional extension to finalize the ENA
• The City Council amended the ENA deadline to February 28, 2025, a deadline that RPG missed • Finally, on March 25, 2025, the City Council provided a final extension to execute the ENA, which was eventually completed on April 8, 2025 ENA Development Background
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• Per the ENA terms, RPG had between April 8 – October 8 to engage the following workplan • Develop a scope of work
• Coordinate preliminary architectural concepts
• Identify total anticipated development costs and financing sources • Establish a proposed development schedule
• Identify community benefits from the project • Engage community engagement • Establish a proposed programming plan • Create an operational plan related to the project identified • With the ENA having expired on October 8, the City Council is now in a position to consider whether to extend exclusive negotiations with RPG or conclude the ENA to pursue other redevelopment / reuse options for the Civic
ENA Terms
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• Since April 8, 2025, RPG has completed the following work • Completed basic due diligence and preliminary design concepts • Presented conceptual renderings to the City that they have asked to remain confidential
• Proposed utilizing the Civic as a venue for immersive “holographic show” technology, to include the development of 14,000 square feet of new retail / restaurant space
• Of note, through the 6-month ENA period, RPG has not provided the City with any documented financial analysis, written pro forma, development plan, or operating protocols
RPG Due Diligence Work Progress
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• RPG has shared that they have engaged three architectural firms – including Jerde, Stufish, and BluePrint Studio – to assess the Civic site • Utilizing those architects, RPG developed a preliminary design deck for the Civic that was presented one-time for City staff and councilmember review • City was not allowed to retain the design concepts presented, with RPG stating that the designs were confidential
• However, RPG released designs to the public during the week of October 6, and eventually emailed the City a confidential design deck on October 8 and informed staff that the plans should not be shared publicly
RPG Engagement To Date
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• Based on a review of the design concepts, RPG has envisioned the following: • Restoring the original design of the Civic including its original main lobby and exterior features • Historic elements of the Civic would be preserved or restored to meet historic tax credit requirements • The parking where SWIP and surface lot is located would be relocated toward the rear of the Civic, creating an open and flexible ‘green space’ park space that can be programmed for a wide variety of events on the former courthouse parking lot area, and would include a new building approximately 14,000 square feet of food and beverage offerings on the periphery of the proposed new park space
• The proposal also envisions reconfiguring the Civic to increase its audience capacity from 3,000 to slightly more than 3,300 • The draft designs also contemplate the creation of a roof top bar / restaurant atop the East Wing and stage-house that backs onto Pico • The current parking located at the front of the Civic would be relocated to the rear of the building on Pico, and RPG’s design does not consider developing any additional parking capacity for the expanded venue • For the Civic itself, RPG is proposing the installation of new technology to create immersive avatar / holographic shows that blend live performers with digital artists superimposed on the stage using motion capture technology RPG Design Concept Overview
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• As shared previously, RPG did not provide the City with any financial, budgetary, operational, or implementation plans associated with their assessment of the Civic
• RPG did provide some verbal details related to their project, including a description of the proposed capacity of the reformatted Civic (3,300 seats) and an estimated ticket price per show ($125) • Staff supplemented that information with additional City knowledge about the site to develop a rough order-of-magnitude financial model for the project • Of note, the analysis performed by staff is not intended to serve as a definitive financial marker for the project, but is instead intended to assess the financial likelihood / feasibility of the envisioned project • Details utilized by staff as part of our assessment included: • Appraisals of the Civic property conducted in 2023 • Statement of probable construction cost developed by the firm Cumming in May 2023 to convert the Civic into a sports / entertainment venue Project Viability Assessment Performed
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
2023 Appraisals Conducted Background
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
2023 ROM Developed By Cumming Background
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
ROM Fiscal Viability Review Background
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• As noted previously, the assessment performed by staff should not be taken to be a definitive assessment regarding the feasibility of RPG’s proposed project • Given that RPG provided no actual financial, business, or operational details, the analysis by staff utilized prior data collected in 2023; rough-order-of-magnitude cost assessments assumed for the holographic system and retail project; and verbal details provided by RPG • With that being said, the ROM analysis performed seems to indicate that the project would perform below industry benchmarks
• The Civic project envisioned by RPG could still be actualized, however the concept being advanced appears to be financially unviable without a subsidy or restructured scope Project Appears Challenging To Execute
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• RPG has asked that the City Council consider playing a ~7 minute video that they released to the public outlining their proposed project • If the 6-month extension were to be granted, RPG has indicated that they would: • Develop a more formal project scope and project cost estimates • Develop a pro forma for the project • Identify a financing structure for the project • Continue to engage in community outreach RPG’s Request
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Background
• Approve a six-month ENA extension to RPG
• Grant a three-month ENA extension to RPG
• Decline to extend the ENA with RPG and provide staff with direction to explore alternative options for the Civic site • Of note, declining to extend the ENA would not preclude the City from continuing to work with RPG
City Council Options
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Questions? Background
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025
Item 11-C
October 14, 2025