Discussion and possible action to approve a budget amendment in the amount of $672,185 from Contingency to the Sports Complex Fund to pay for expenditures in excess of the Fiscal Year 2023 budget.

Peoria Sports Complex incurred operating budget overages in multiple expenditure line items related to a very strong year of higher than average bookings and facility uses creating overages in the utilities, commodities and contractual services. While these overages were largely offset by higher revenue, it still requires a budget amendment. These overages were primarily driven by the cost of operating the day-to-day business combined with the accelerated and unexpected maintenance for the aging facility, fleet and equipment of the sports complex. With a robust spring training season, more events and activities, and increases to commodities, both through cost and use, expenses escalated. Maintenance needs included unexpected repairs and replacements to facility HVAC compressors, field lighting, marquee removal, field windscreens and other projects. Other cost increases were directly related to annual turf care commodities such as seed, sod and fertilizer. An expansion of events of 18% above FY2019 caused increases in contract labor, janitorial supplies, expendable tools and landscape supplies.

Research into the overages did bring to light the fact that there were department administrative and personnel costs burdened solely to the sports complex division budget and not spread across the department. Additionally, prior budget supplemental requests for projected utility and inflationary impacts proved too conservative and an accounting error accrued to FY2023 instead of FY2022.

While Peoria Sports Complex did experience these operating budgetary expenditure challenges, it also delivered its best revenue-producing fiscal year in its history by a wide margin, largely driven by a very successful spring training season as well as expanded business development in its year-round event calendar. The average fiscal year revenue from FY2015 through FY2019 was $3,326,099. (The most recent years of FY2020 through FY2022 are not included as they were anomalous due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and the Major League Baseball lockout in 2022.) The fiscal year revenue for FY2023, in comparison, was $5,042,713.

Staff recommends approval of a budget amendment in the amount of $672,185 from Contingency to the Sports Complex Fund.

The Sports Complex Fund has sufficient fund balance to cover this request, With the increased revenues, the Sports Complex was within its normal subsidy transfer.