Battle Begins for WestWorld

by Col. Newland Happersett

The outcome of current events surrounding WestWorld will not be known until February. Already various special interest groups are vying for position in what promises to be an all out battle for WestWorld. At stake is the very future of the Park, and how it will be used for the next twenty years.

Two new freshmen Councilman, in Scottsdale, could cast the critical votes in defining the future of the property. On one-side is City staff, and planners who want to establish the 150 acres as a "Business Enterprise Zone". Besides focusing the growth on business use, this would enable the City to perform certain accounting tricks to show the expenses at WestWorld as investments, not expenses. That could turn into a minefield of trouble with all the news on financial scandal. If Staff can pull it off, within the "Business Enterprise Zone, nonprofit organizations will compete with for-profit organizations for the resources of the property. At the last Oversight meeting Scottsdale accounting staff appeared uncomfortable with how they are booking losses at WestWorld, if it becomes a "Business Enterprise Zone."

On the other side, there are those who want the City to return WestWorld to the City of Scottsdale Parks Department where it was managed very successfully for its first ten years of existence.

Cornerstone to the plans of commercializing the property is the hopes of building an estimated 100,000 foot convention hall, or as planners name it an exhibitor hall. That big a building, and the support buildings required for servicing that size hall can be built on the property according to preliminary reports from planners.

At the last public meeting, the economic director for the planners, Brian Sands gave an informative presentation. Brian pointed out that use at WestWorld is eighty-percent equestrian. Three out of four events at the Park are equestrian. Of the eighty-three equestrian events at WestWorld half of them are one-day events.

Of the forty-nine user groups renting WestWorld, two-thirds of those groups have just one event. A handful of signature events rent the Park for seventy-seven days. Most are equestrian in nature, and they generate just under half the Parks revenue during that time.

The economic director detailed the continued decline of revenue and customers at the Park the past five years. An outstanding rate of ninety-percent recovery of expenses relating to operations was achieved five years ago. Today the recovery rate, according to Brian Sands, has plummeted to sixty-percent. Worse yet, sales have been declining at three-percent a year for the same period of time. Expenses however have jumped nine-percent every year, according to Sands, specifically for personal and contract services.

The last meeting drew a small, but engaged audience. Now that things are heating up, media players including; Peggy Dyer Brock (Sonoran News), Susie Wheeler (KXAM Radio), Rex Wager (Bridle& Bit), and reporters and photographers for the Tribune newspapers attended and participated in the lively debate. Between the three of them, (Brock, Wheeler, and Wager), they have fifty-years experience on issues relating to WestWorld. They ask very pointed questions, with follow-up, after follow-up. At this last meeting their grilling the planners with questions shook-up the whole affair. Watch for more fireworks at future meetings from that bunch.

The architects, from Gralla, who inspected WestWorld earlier in the day seemed disappointed in the Park. They commented, "This is not a world-class facility as it is today." When pressured by questioners about prioritizing improvements they responded, "Basic infrastructure has to be improved first."

A surprise appearance from Howie and Kim Keim spiced up the crowd, and Kim asked several questions about fiscal responsibility. Specifically she asked, "How do you balance the Cities responsibilities to the tax payers and the needs of the user groups" The muddled answer only further deteriorated the credibility of the presentation.

Peggy Dyer Brock pointed out, "Many of us in this room tonight have been coming to these meetings for over ten-years, and we are no further along tonight then we were ten years ago." Susie Wheeler, a longtime Scottsdale political operative, and past Maricopa Country Parks Commissioner asked question after question about the scope and focus of their study. In response Brian Sands admitted that they had interviewed only twenty of the forty-nine user groups, and had not used any form of statistical analysis in defining those interviewed.

This form of serious mistake, in a study, just occurred in the Cities attempt to raise rates, drawing the ire of the Bureau of Reclamation. Now the City has discovered any new master-plan update at the level their dreaming about would require the dreaded Environmental Impact Study for BOR.

Susie Wheeler pointed out that much of the planners speculation of competing head-on for bringing convention business, and trade shows from the Phoenix Civic Hall Convention Center would not meet the definitions of use in the underlying land use agreement Scottsdale has with the Federal government. Her point seemed to baffle the planners.

As the aging facility nears the payoff of the underlying bonds used to build the Park, planners hope to target new developmental costs between ten and fifteen million dollars. Others hope for limited development of another covered arena, infrastructure electric and telephone, an assortment of shade trees, and a new show office, all for less than one-million dollars.

Horse people realize they cannot compete for the resources of the property against for-profit business that do not rent stalls, and all the extra stuff for horse shows. Businesses that just come in and rent a parking lot, or convention hall are at a serious economic advantage at WestWorld.

Sensing trouble with their rate proposal, and feeling threatened by the complexity of issues surrounding WestWorld, City staff has canceled the next several months of the Councils Oversight Committee meetings.

The Bureau of Reclamation is very sensitive to having their land described as a "Business Enterprise Zone." They become discouraged by City staffers who do not use statistical analysis on issues relating to recreational use of their lands. Right now, as presented, one would conclude that the new planners are not doing a study that will meet the requirements of BOR. Besides that, the Environmental Impact Study could become a field of quicksand. One person familiar with this particular case estimates it would take five-years to accomplish the study.

Unfortunately all these major decisions will be made with the input of too few people. If you have the interest and time, try and participate.

The next planning meeting is on September 11th from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Monterra, located at WestWorld.