May 10, 2018

Dear Mayor Cranley, Councilmembers and County Commissioners:

Foremost, we want to convey our enthusiasm for the progress recently made on a live music venue at the Banks. While
it has taken years to get to this point, we believe this venue is critical to the Banks becoming a premier entertainment
destination. In response to the Joint Banks Steering Committee’s (“JBSC”) recent vote, we understand there is enormous
pressure to select the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra a (“CSO”) as the operator. As a follow-up to our recent letter to you,
we believe it is necessary to complete an open, honest evaluation of the proposals from PromoWest and CSO. Public
parties have invested over $1.7 billion in the Banks neighborhood, and we believe an operator should be carefully selected
that presents the best complete package for the Banks, City, County, and private investors.

Our first choice for the live music venue is PromoWest for the reasons detailed below, including:

1) They have a deep knowledge and understanding of the critical indoor/outdoor component as evidenced by their
very successful, venue in the North Shore district between the Steelers and Pirates stadiums in Pittsburgh.
2) Their proposal offers the most positive economic impact, with no direct or indirect public subsidies.
3) Being the 9th largest promoter in the county, PromoWest has access and direct relationships with top artists of all
genres. They are exhibiting operational excellence in an almost identical facilities, drawing over 300,000
attendees annually and booking over 180 events a year.

Indoor/Outdoor Venue & Public Funding

An outdoor component, regardless of the operator, is critical to add energy and connectivity to the rest of the Banks
project. The “temporary” stage offered in the CSO proposal provides no comfort that this outdoor element will ever be
meaningfully activated at the Banks.

We cannot over-emphasize the need for selecting an operator to fund and program a real robust outdoor concert venue.
On page 11 of the CSO proposal, they state “we suggest the inclusion of a temporary seasonal stage to be located within
the area of the proposed park at Lot 23…CSO/MEMI would encourage sponsor or public funding to operate the stage.”
The Schmidlapp Event Lawn at Riverfront Park in the Banks is an example of a permanent-stage venue funded by public
dollars over 10 years ago. This beautiful site has been incredibly underutilized due to lack of funding and
undermanagement. CSO’s proposed stage would also require the City Parks Board to have funding in place to complete
the construction of a park associated with Lot 23. This will come at a substantial public cost that has not been funded.

Economic Impacts
The reality of selecting CSO, a not-for-profit, results in a very significant economic trade-off from lost tax and parking
revenues. Our analysis indicates a total economic “loss” to the public parties of over $1,100,000 in the first year alone.
Over 30 years, the potential cost to the City and County is upwards of $50,000,000. In simple present value terms, the
value of these lost public revenues over 30 years is approximately $17,500,000. These are very meaningful figures. In
addition, having 75,000 more PromoWest concert-goers visiting the Banks every year will significantly impact retail sales,
and other business throughout the neighborhood.

In detail, the lost revenue impacts are:

• Property Taxes – $367,297 of Lost Revenue. This is based on PromoWest paying full property taxes, while the
CSO is exempt from paying.
 • Sales Taxes – $210,000 of Lost Revenue. This is based on PromoWest paying sales taxes on all food, beverage,
and merchandise sales, while the CSO is exempt from paying.
• Amusement Taxes – $283,500 of Lost Revenue. This is based on PromoWest paying amusement taxes of 3% on
all ticket sales, while the CSO is exempt from paying. Further, PromoWest expects to have about 75,000 more
concert attendees each year than CSO to increase the amusement taxes collected.
• Parking – $290,323 of Lost Revenue. Given PromoWest’s higher attendance assumption with more
concerts/events, County parking revenue will be higher. This figure is based on the conservative, low end of
PromoWest’s attendance assumption.

Additionally, PromoWest has committed to contributing $0.50 to the Banks Marketing Fund for every ticket sold.
Assuming 300,000 annual attendees, this will equate to $150,000 that will be used for additional programming throughout
the neighborhood. This gesture speaks volumes to PromoWest’s commitment to the Banks, and their desire to be a part
of the long-term success of the area.

Extensive Relationships to Book Top Talent

PromoWest is the 9th largest music promoter in the country and currently operates two almost identical facilities in the
Midwest to what is being proposed at the Banks. They have been programming world renowned talent for over 20 years
and stage approximately 700 events annually in the Midwest. PromoWest’s deep understanding of the diverse consumer
base which surrounds a sports-oriented entertainment district and their access to top talent that spans all of the musical
genres make them uniquely qualified for the Banks site. As the operator of similar venues in Columbus and Pittsburgh,
they have a strategic edge in booking artists by creating a circuit between these three locations. PromoWest also has no
other facilities in Cincinnati that will take their attention or focus away from programming only the best acts at this
location. PromoWest will bring the top and relevant artists to Cincinnati that complement the vibrant and dynamic
environment at the Banks.

We want to have the best live music venue possible at the Banks, and one that has the most positive economic impact for
the public and private parties. PromoWest best delivers on these two requirements. To that end, we respectfully make
the following recommendations:
• Shortlist the CSO and PromoWest proposals. While the Live Nation proposal was impressive, we understand a
$30,000,000 public subsidy request is not viable.
• Allow the CSO and PromoWest to present their proposals directly to the Mayor, City Council and the County
Commission.
• Give the CSO and PromoWest the opportunity to respond to the new inquires that have arisen since the initial
presentations in a fair, open, and unfiltered environment.
Our recommendation gives the public parties the ability to make an informed final decision based on accurate and
complete information. We sincerely appreciate your focus on this critical decision.

Sincerely,

Mark E. Nicol
Public Revenue Analysis
Est. Annual
Construction/ Market Assessed Value Property Tax
Property Tax Revenue Value (35%) Milage Rate Revenue
PromoWest $11,000,000 $3,850,000 95.401744 $367,297
CSO/MEMI $17,000,000 $5,950,000 0 $0
Total Annual Property Tax Revenue Lost ($367,297)

Avg. Est. Annual Sales

Sales Tax Revenue # of Events Attendees Sales/Attendee Sales Tax Rate Tax Revenue
PromoWest 180 300,000 $10.00 7.0% $210,000
CSO/MEMI 150 225,000 $10.00 0% $0
Total Annual Sales Tax Revenue Lost ($210,000)

Est. Annual
Non Comped Avg. Amusement Tax
Amusement Tax Revenue # of Events Attendees Attendees Sales/Attendee Tax/ticket Revenue
PromoWest 180 300,000 270,000 $35.00 3.0% $283,500
CSO/MEMI 150 225,000 202,500 $35.00 0% $0
Total Annual Amusement Tax Revenue Lost ($283,500)

Avg. Parking Est. Annual

Parking Revenue # of Events Attendees Attendees/Car * Total Cars Ticket ** Parking Revenue
PromoWest 180 300,000 3.1 96,774 $12.00 $1,161,290
CSO/MEMI 150 225,000 3.1 72,581 $12.00 $870,968
Total Annual Parking Revenue Lost ($290,323)

Total Annual Lost Public Party Revenue ($1,151,119)

Notes:
Attendance number noted confirmed by PromoWest, and taken from page 12 of CSO proposal
The PromoWest construction cost used in the Property Tax calculation is an estimate
* Attendees per car confirmed by PromoWest for comparable facilities
** Parking rate is estimated, but will be set by the County