On December 6, 2016, Item No. 40, the Board discussed an unsolicited proposal received from Worldwide Sports Management Group, LLC (Worldwide) that included bringing a minimum of three multi-day international cricket tournaments to the Central Broward Regional Park (CBRP) annually, pursuing a Caribbean Premier League or other franchise team to become an anchor tenant at CBRP, payment of all marketing fees for tournaments, annual minimum payments to Broward County, and a five-year term, with renewal options.
After discussion by the Board, staff was directed to negotiate with Worldwide and while doing so, also research whether Worldwide was in fact the sole source for provision of the aforementioned services. The Purchasing Division advertised a Request for Information (RFI) No. N2113482F1, Promotion & Management for International Cricket Events in BidSync on December 23, 2016 (Exhibit 1). Four responses were received: CPL US OpCo Limited (Caribbean Premier League); Cricket Council USA, Inc.; Global Sports Ventures, LLC; and Pitch International, LLP (Exhibits 2a - 2d).
The Purchasing Division's memorandum (Exhibit 3) concludes that based upon a review of the responses there are at least four additional firms, including an entity in Broward and one in Miami-Dade, interested in competing. "At least three of the four firms described expertise in promoting and marketing large scale sporting events. . . Two of the firms described experience at bringing or managing a cricket event specifically at CBRP. . ." If the Board determines that continuing the negotiations with Worldwide is in the best interest of the County, a waiver of the Procurement Code is necessary.
The County conducted two sunshine meetings with Worldwide on December 20, 2016 and January 17, 2017, which consisted of fact-finding and negotiations. Of note are a number of constraints on CBRP’s use and development, including restrictive covenants, Charter limitations (Sec. 8.13), and case law (see Exhibit 4). The Parks and Recreation Division (Parks) is preparing a term sheet that outlines major items that are key to any Agreement, as well as issues presented during the negotiations with Worldwide.
In 2013, pursuant to an agreement with the County, PROS Consulting, LLC, completed a Business Plan for the CBRP Sports Complex (Exhibit 5). The Business Plan’s purpose was to assist the County in increasing the level of utilization of the Sports Complex across varied groups and consequently attaining a higher level of cost recovery over time.
Parks' staff works directly with representatives of international cricket boards to bring international cricket events to Broward County. Recent correspondence with representatives from two international cricket organizations indicates concerns with the unsolicited proposal (Exhibit 6).
As a reference, staff created an overview of the official structure of cricket boards around the world (Exhibit 7).
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