Arena Commission

MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025, 11:30 a.m. Commission Members Present: Kirk Madsen, Mark Eckman, Marshall Redmond, Rod James Commission Members Absent: City Employees Present: Mimi Rogers Caesars Entertainment Members Present: Mark Vacanti, Thomas Roberts, Janae Sternberg, Amanda Kelley, Shari McCormick, Pete Shaner, Robin Gilmore, Rob McCracken, Abby Williamson, Stephanie Doty 1. Call to Order at 11:32 a.m. Mark Eckman 2. Roll Call: Kirk Madsen, Rod James, Marshall Redmond all present 3. Approve Agenda November 18, 2025 – Mark Eckman entertained a motion to approve by Rod James motioned, seconded by Marshall Redmond motion passed. 4. Approve Minutes from August 12, 2025, Mark Eckman entertained a motion to approve Rod James motioned, seconded by Marshall Redmond motion passed. 5. New Business 6. Presentations A. Presentation by Harrah’s Iowa Arena Management – Mid-America Center Operations Update - Mark Vacanti, MAC General Manager Welcome! Good morning, everyone, I just wanted to start off by saying we ramped things up in the last 3 months and got back into the swing of things after the summer season, I want to definitely thank the leadership team, it’s a testament of what they do for us and how they prepare, Pete, Rob, Abby, Stephanie and our Sales team that starts all of that off. Thank you! Past Events August 2025 ❖ Summer Academy – Professional Development Training ❖ CB Professional Learning Day ❖ Back to School Celebration and Employee Fair ❖ Quick Trip Annual Meeting - 400 attendees September 2025 Stronger than last year. ❖ Lewis Township Fire and Rescue Banquet ❖ Lord Of Hosts Church – 8,000 guests through 4 days 1  MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 ❖ Derka SMS User Conference ❖ Midwest Oncology Practice Society Meeting September ❖ Performance Foodservice Showcase September moved from the beginning of October, also moved into arena and were able to use the concourse for the vendor party. ❖ Impact for Women Summit Bi-Annual event all day conference. Over 400 in attendance ❖ Heartland Developers Conference used to be at CHI Health Center, and they decided to move over to Iowa, they were very happy and already booked for a 2nd year. Amanda worked diligently to get them in for this year’s event. October 2025 ❖ Nuke-Con > Ballroom same weekend as Mystic Fest Fall Exhibition Hall ❖ Mystic Fest Fall > Exhibition Hall had over 2000 visitors over the weekend. ❖ Amcon Distributing Company Meeting > Sells product to local convenient stores and gas stations ❖ Callahan Craft Fair Fall > New items on Concession menu. ❖ Anime NebrasKon > Signed through 2030. Locked in big event. Over 2,000 more in attendance ❖ Rasmussen Mechanical Services Conference > Local and have booked in the past ❖ TSO Rehearsal >18 Days of rehearsal 200+ person crew and vendors. East and West 2 more years of Rehearsal booked out. Discussion around ingress at the TSO show. November 2025 ❖ 250th Marine Birthday Ball Omaha Det 1 Maintenance Co ❖ Connections Area Agency on Aging Caregiver Conference ❖ Trans-Siberian Orchestra Show 5,200 with Club and Suites ❖ The Jason Awards Upcoming Public Events 2025 November 2025 ❖ Council Bluffs Kennel Club, they have over 700 dogs competing for that blue ribbon ❖ Beautillion 2  MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 December 2025 ❖ CheerSport ❖ Callahan Craft Fair Winter Larger craft fairs in the area. ❖ CB Wrestling Classics > New tournament director ❖ Powerhouse Wrestling King and Queen ❖ JE Dunn Holiday Party ❖ 2025 IUOE Local 571 Holiday Party ❖ MAC Shootout - bragging rights Iowa VS Nebraska HS teams competing over one weekend ❖ JBP Concrete and Construction Holiday Party ❖ Timpte Inc. Holiday Party Upcoming Events 2026 January 2026 ❖ Health & Fitness Expo Something we are trying this year. See how it goes, Stephanie Doty is working on getting vendors tough to squeeze in after the holidays. ❖ Nationwide Expos Home Show moved from May to January ❖ Midwest Oncology Practice Society Meeting ❖ Deep South Spirit Cheer and Dance ❖ Conductix Holiday Party ❖ Wiese Enterprises ❖ Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting ❖ Bellevue University Graduation February 2026 ❖ Act 1 Talent Competition ❖ MCDA Cheer & Dance Competition. 3  MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 ❖ Agriculture Appreciation Banquet moving to June 2025, large event. They have had bad luck with the weather in winter in January so have decided to move to summer. ❖ Titanium Fire Sprinkler Company Holiday Party ❖ Cardin Int'l Circus 1st of 3-year deal, good partnership ❖ KC Card Shows Expo February ❖ Ovation Dance ❖ Midwest Green Expo > Landscaping and building materials. ❖ Rainbow Dance Competition ❖ Jennie Edmundson Dance to the Beat > Coming back to the MAC ❖ Spirit Catholic Radio Banquet over 1000 attendees on an already busy weekend Event Attendance ❖ Numbers look better than last year and had better attendance with events. Stronger in October. Capital Update ❖ Future projects 4  MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 ▪ FY26 – approved ▪ PO issued - Arena Seating Phase 1 and Arena floor seats retractable south end zone. ▪ Parking lot replacement Mark E asked if this was complete? Mark V. stated there is one area left to complete. ▪ FY27 ▪ Phase II Arena Seating – retractable sidelines ▪ Boiler Replacement Phase I - Mayor Walsh asked for two phases ▪ Performance stage is 25 years old new stage will have wheels which will be a huge benefit for setups ▪ FY28 ▪ Phase III Arena Seating – Fixed seats better throughout the bowl of the arena. ▪ Boiler Replacement Phase II ▪ Carpet replacement 2014 > 11 years old ▪ FY29 ▪ Banquet seating, furniture and wallpaper ▪ FY30 ▪ LED Arena lighting ▪ FY31 ▪ Chiller replacement 30 years old, needs replaced. SALES REVIEW –Amanda Kelly & Shari McCormick Shari Discussed: Recap for Q3 2025 Sales Contracted ➢ Anime NebrasKon Multi booking to 2030 • October 2028 • October 2029 • October 2030 - Happy to have them long term. ➢ US National Baton Twirling Championships • July 2026 ➢ Beautillion 2025 It’s been a while now they have come back. • November 2025 ➢ Jennie Ed Dance to the Beat • Feb 2026 ➢ Conductix Holiday Party • January 2026 ➢ JE Dunn Holiday Pary • December 2025 5  MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 ➢ Ameriprise Financial Training sessions • November 2025 ➢ MidAmerican Energy Meeting • September 2025 ➢ Iowa West Foundation – Voices and Vision 2025 • October 2025 ➢ CB Chamber Annual meeting • January 2026 ➢ CB Chamber Mid-Year Meeting • June 2026 Sales Projections On the Radar…. Amanda and I are working on booking: ❖ North American Dart Organization (Thanks Mark & Kathy of CBVB for that) ❖ Iowa Rural Water Association – been in Okoboji area for the last 30 years, coming to CB ❖ Avery Technical Resources ❖ Metro Transit Site Tour 12/21/2025 Rebooking… ❖ Bellevue University ‘29 & ‘30 ❖ Showbiz Dance ❖ PrimeTime Dance ❖ Mystic Fest working on four-year contract ❖ Nuke Con Also working on four-year contract ❖ Northern Natural Gas Lead discussion and how we make contact with potential groups. FINANCIAL REVIEW – Janae Sternberg, Caesars VP Finance We have had a good year. Trending $40,000 ahead, expenses are down with eliminating contractual labor and services. Looking forward to similar results in the future. Mid America Center Financial Comparison Actuals Budget Variance Actuals Actuals 4 months ended 10/31/2025 10/31/2025 10/31/2024 10/31/2023 Net Income 1,049,303 1,085,155 (35,852) 875,090 1,152,879 Operating Expense (1,331,537) (1,451,723) 120,186 (1,197,047) (1,249,694) Actual (Loss)/Income (282,234) (366,568) 84,334 (321,957) (96,815) Base Fee (22,500) 22,500 - (65,421) Total Loss (282,234) (389,068) 106,834 (321,957) (162,236) 6  MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 MARKETING REVIEW Marketing/Entertainment – Abby Williamson Social Media Performance ✓ Facebook impressions are higher than all other platforms as usual. Be sure to follow our social media pages & share posts! Sharing is the best way to ensure more people see our events & attend! • Facebook – Mid-America Center (Face Book by far the best) • Twitter – @BackAtTheMac • Instagram – MidAmerica center Facebook consistently has more clicksI! We are keeping people engaged. Abby: More clicks have been going through Facebook we had 161 posts on Mid-America Center Facebook. Please share our posts on social media. All referrals would be greatly appreciated! Other Marketing Updates st • 1 Annual MAC Health &Fitness Expo • Influencer Speaker announced – Matthew Vincent Vision Board 7  MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 • 123k followers on Instagram • His seminar will focus on his functional vision board & how it guarantees progress & success. • Special offer to Chamber Members – 10% Discount Booth space. • Black Friday Deals • Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Me + 3 and 2 for 1 Offers (4 for 3 adults) • Council Bluffs PRCA Rodeo Me + 3 Offer • Second Billboard 84th and Papillion location to begin December 1- April 30. Other location is on 72nd & Pacific. • New opportunity to market in Sarpy County & generate more revenue selling that spot to events. BANQUETS/CONCESSIONS REVIEW – Pete Shaner, Food and Beverage Manager Notable Event: ❖ Lord of Hosts our largest revenue with attendance down it was still strong ❖ Performance Foodservice moved to arena due to attendance up over 20%! ❖ Heartland Developers Conference Rebooked for 2026 - 600 guests th ❖ 250 Marine Birthday Ball Extravagant 3 course event with good bar totals. Marines took 3 bids. National Guard dinner will be every other year. Continuing to Onboard Team Member ❖ Effective Referral Program Menu Revisions: Also updated menu’s backstage too. 8  MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 ❖ Holiday, Backstage and Full Event Menus Event Call Out’s ❖ Lord of Hosts Church ❖ Anime NebrasKon ❖ Trans-Siberian Orchestra Utilizing “New” Locations: ❖ Bar at Concourse Section 216 Revamped areas ❖ Portable Beverage Stations ❖ Bud Zone new grab and go F&B Promos: New Additions: ❖ Texas Roadhouse – C.B Store for Anime and TSO ❖ Pork Tenderloin Craft Fair main stay. Big Hit! ❖ Surfside Lemonade New PFG Vodka Infused. Sold out! ❖ Crush Sodas kids favorite. 9  MAC Commission Meeting November 18, 2025 7. Other Report -Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau Craig Carlson reviewed the monthly report that was given out at the beginning of the meeting and answered any questions. Question from Gary Friedenbach, Country Inn and Suites, about annual contributions by the CVB to assist with hotel industry softness. Mark Eckman explained the process for reviewing needs and budgets with the city. 8. Set date for next meeting Next meeting scheduled for Tuesday February 10, 2026, 11:30 AM 9. Adjournment Mark Eckman asked for a motion for adjournment, Rod James motioned, Marshall Redmond 2nd The motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 12:28 PM 10