Bradenton Downtown Development Authority delays regatta planning

BRADENTON -- Mike Fetchko, promoter of the Bradenton Area Riverwalk Regatta, thought he was invited to attend Tuesday's Bradenton Downtown Development Authority meeting to provide an update for the Feb. 6, 2016, regatta on the Manatee River.

Instead, he found himself engaged in a board debate about if and when the DDA would renew its part of the 2016 contract as the pass-through agency for Manatee County Tourist Development Commission sponsorship funding.

The contract approved by the DDA for the 2015 regatta provided certain financial guarantees. However, the understanding is TDC reimbursements, as well as money from other sponsors, would relieve them from the majority of that burden.

Even though the city of Bradenton and Manatee County have approved their respective roles in the next regatta, and despite support from the TDC, the DDA said a contract renewal would not take place until the end of May.

The delay adds to the city of Palmetto's hesitation to approve the regatta until it has written assurances the city will be a bigger beneficiary of the economic impact, something Palmetto officials say didn't happen during the inaugural event. Fetchko said the regatta will go forward hopefully with Palmetto's support.

The DDA board then blamed Fetchko, president of Integrated Strategic Mar

keting, for surprising them with a request to approve the contract.

However, Fetchko never broached the subject. The request came from DDA Executive Director Dave Gustafson at the end of Fetchko's presentation. Fetchko said he was unaware the DDA needed to approve anything after the city council had approved the regatta.

Fetchko said if there a DDA agreement needs to be renewed, time is of the essence.

"With great respect, last year's agreements were done by April 25," he said. "I can't renew other agreements until these agreements are done."

City attorney Bill Lisch said everything worked out well for the 2015 regatta but the DDA has exposure in the existing contract.

DDA members agreed to review the contract at a May 12 workshop, but an approval isn't likely until its regular May 26 meeting.

While Fetchko remains committed to a second regatta, the political climate in Palmetto and now on the DDA board begs the question of whether there will be a Year Three.

"As head of ISM, (the regatta) is happening," said Fetchko. "We are locked and loaded, ready and being very patient and optimistic with (DeSoto Historical Society) to get Palmetto on board. All of the logistics and operations are underway and we are working with DeSoto to create programming initiatives that make sense for Palmetto."

County fully behind regatta

Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione, who recently disclosed he would approach the TDC to increase sponsorship funding 14 percent from $175,000 to $200,000 to make Palmetto programming more feasible, said the county is fully behind making the regatta a signature event.

"We all know that eventually we will go through a recession again and these signature events help merchants go through those recessions," said Falcione. "We have an opportunity where we can grow this event."

Falcione also said the CVB is working on changing the event logo per Palmetto's request to make it clear the regatta is not just a Bradenton event.

The Bradenton Area Riverwalk Regatta set a precedent on what Formula 2 racing can do on various bodies of waters in Florida. The popularity of the event, the national exposure Manatee County received and the $8 million economic impact it exerted have other Florida cities beginning to court the Powerboat Super League series.

"We are doing this again because we believe in the redevelopment of the urban core," said Falcione, who noted officials should pay attention to the fact "F2 already is sniffing around other parts of the state" that have expressed interest in them.

Powerboat Super League Series President Sam Winer could not be reached for comment.

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter @urbanmark2014.

This story was originally published April 29, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton Downtown Development Authority delays regatta planning ."