COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST - OPTIONS TO INCREASE PATRONAGE AT THE GLENDALE CIVIC CENTER
Staff Contact and Presenter: Erik Strunk, Director, Public Facilities, Recreation and Special Events
Staff Presenter: Diane Williams, Administrator, Civic Center
Purpose and Recommended Action
This item is follow up to a Council Item of Interest by Vice Mayor Hugh to review the current business model for the Civic Center and to discuss possible actions to increase patronage at the facility.
Background
In 1995, the City recognized that for a community of its size (185,919 residents), it had minimal public meeting space available for conferences, organizations, clubs and civic activities. To address this lack of meeting space, the City began studying the possibility of constructing a "Civic Center" on City-owned land between Glenn Drive and Palmaire Avenue from 57th Drive to 57th Avenue to be used for community meetings and activities, as well as City sponsored functions. It was further directed that the design of the center should be one that could serve as a focal point of downtown Glendale, include state-of-the-art audio and visual capabilities, and contain meeting space to accommodate several hundred people, including a catering facility, and smaller breakout rooms. In 1997, the City Council subsequently provided staff direction to move forward with the construction of the new "Civic Center".
Design and construction took approximately two years, and the total cost of the new Civic Center amounted to $8,500,000. The 36,000 square foot facility first opened its doors to the public on December 31, 1999. In 2006, a second ancillary building, the 3,800 square foot "Annex", was acquired and remodeled, resulting in nearly 40,000 square-feet of rentable space for corporate meetings, conferences, trade shows, graduations and a variety of social gatherings including weddings and proms. Since its inception, full catering services have been provided to Civic Center patro...
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