Nueces County approves five-year Spectra fairgrounds contract after last-minute red-line review

The Nueces County Commissioners on Feb. 9 voted to authorize execution of a five-year management agreement with Spectra Venue Management to operate the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds, adopting the longer-term option that the county’s purchasing agent said would reduce incentive costs and provide additional capital investment for facility improvements.

The contract — RFP 3159-21 — proposes a $145,000 base annual management fee and an incentive-fee cap structured differently under two options. Purchasing Agent Michael Robinson told the court option 1 (a five-year initial term with two one-year renewals) would cap Spectra’s incentive fee at about 35% of the base fee over five years and yield roughly $175,000 in capital investments (split across two payments). Robinson said option 2 (three years plus renewals) would reduce that capital commitment and allow a higher incentive cap, increasing long-term cost risk to the county.

Robinson recommended option 1 in part because Spectra had been the only bidder and historically remained the fairgrounds manager. Jason Green, Spectra’s local manager, and a company representative, identified in court as Keller, described Spectra’s 15-year relationship with the county and said the company had operated the venue for community uses including vaccine and testing sites during the pandemic.

Several commissioners pressed staff over language in Section 4.4 about use of the facility for emergencies and a “supplemental agreement.” Commissioner Chesney said the current phrasing using the word “may” left too much discretion during declared emergencies and asked staff to consider substituting “shall,” a stronger legal obligation. County counsel and the purchasing agent said the clause was intended to preserve flexibility while explicitly allowing the county to document special emergency terms through a supplemental agreement; they also agreed to prepare a red-line comparison of changes from the prior contract.

Judge Canales paused the item to allow staff to provide a red line and for commissioners to review small technical edits; after follow-up the court agreed to approve the longer-term option subject to technical language adjustments the county attorney would finalize.

The court also discussed how emergency use of the fairgrounds had been treated during the pandemic, including use for vaccination, testing and warming-center operations, and staff emphasized the contract preserves the county’s ability to credit Spectra for facility use (a “paper credit” model) rather than direct payments when federal funds or county needs dictate different arrangements.

The motion to approve the execution of the agreement, made and seconded at the reconvened session, carried by voice vote. The court asked staff to circulate the finalized red-lined language to commissioners and to return if further edits were required.

What’s next: County staff will finalize the contract language with the county attorney and return a finalized agreement for signature. Spectra and county officials said they aim to maintain continuity of operations at the fairgrounds while preserving county control for emergency use.

Quote attribution: Purchasing Agent Michael Robinson said, "Option 1... does provide the county with the best rate on the base management fee," and Spectra’s representative said the company was “proud of the events and community service” it had provided over the past 15 years.

Ending: The court approved the agreement subject to limited technical edits and directed staff to circulate a final red line; commissioners said they want any future supplemental emergency terms to come back for review before they are executed.