Goodyear has been participating in the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) Prop 302 program with the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce co-op since at least 2009. This co-op included the Northwest Valley Chamber of Commerce, City of Surprise, City of Avondale, City of Tolleson, City of Buckeye, City of Litchfield Park and City of Goodyear. Recently, the Town of Wickenburg provided a 90-day notice to the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce to reclaim their Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) status. With the change of DMO status, staff reexamined the option of establishing Goodyear as DMO. Goodyear meets all requirements in the AOT guidelines and is eligible to apply as an independent DMO or regional co-operative.
 

Staff recommends authorizing the City Manager to submit an application to the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) which would establish the City of Goodyear as the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) for either ourselves or a new co-op that includes the City of Goodyear and the City of Litchfield Park and authorize all associated budget transfers. (Bruce Kessman, Ballpark General Manager and Debbie Diveney, Assistant GM - Business Operations and Marketing)

Over the past five years, Goodyear has received between $67,500 and $100,000 in grant funding by participating in Arizona Office of Tourism’s Prop 302 program through the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce co-op. The funding allocation is based on the amounts the Department of Revenue (DOR) reports as hotel tax dollars from Goodyear properties. By applying for the Prop 302 funding on our own, or as a co-op with the City of Litchfield Park, there is no negative fiscal impact. Current AOT guidelines ensure that each co-op participant is entitled to their proportionate share of the co-op funding, based on the DOR revenue percentages.  If approved, authorized budget transfers may occur in both FY2021 and/or FY2022.
 

In 1999 voters approved the Proposition 302 initiative, which includes funding to promote tourism in Maricopa County. Funding is derived over a 30-year period from a car rental surcharge and a 1% tax on hotels in Maricopa County.
 
In accordance with A.R.S. § 41-2306, A2 and A3, revenues are deposited pursuant to Title 5, Chapter 8, Article 2, section 5-835, subsection B or C and Title 42, Chapter 6, Article 3, section 42-6108.01. All monies in this account are continuously appropriated to the office of tourism, which, in consultation with a consortium of destination marketing organizations in the county in which the tourism and sports authority is established, shall be spent to promote tourism within that county.
 
No previous council action has been taken on this item.

Staff has evaluated the following criteria and has determined Goodyear meets the requirements to apply as an independent DMO or regional co-op.
 

• Applicants must have the established designation as the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) for a city or town within Maricopa County. A DMO is defined as the primary governmentally-designated unit responsible for the tourism promotion/marketing of a destination on a year-round basis.
• The DMO must have been in existence for at least one (1) year prior to the current funding year.
• The applying DMO must have a tourism marketing budget of at least $123,000 for FY2021, excluding administrative costs and exclusive of funds anticipated from this marketing program.

Staff has been actively participating with the Wickenburg Chamber co-op and has a full understanding of the program and the administration necessary to ensure success. Current staff has the capacity to act as Project Coordinator for the Prop 302 funding allocation. Applying as our own DMO would have minimal impact on staffing, as staff has been managing the projects for several years while working with the Wickenburg Chamber co-op.

Staff has identified the required budget within the Ballpark, Economic Development and Digital Communications current budgets. The City of Litchfield Park does not have the tourism marketing budget required to apply on their own.