Ford Park

upgrades, as well as a new chiller that’s tied to the HVAC system. The Ford Park complex is owned by Jefferson County, Texas and was built at a cost of approximately $75 million. The facility operates with a staff of 22 full-time Spectra employees, and on event days (based on unique requirements for each) that may be supplemented with up to 100 part-time staff. Spectra is the private management company for Ford Park, acting as an agent for Jefferson County. According to Oliveira, “The County funds the operation; we’re in charge of presenting an operating budget for every fiscal year that is mutually agreed upon. Our job is to make that an aggressive budget, and not only reach it but exceed our mark year over year. From when we started in 2017, it’s been consistently $1.9 – 2 million per year. 2019 was $1.5 million, so we’re improving that number. We’ve done a good job, considering we hold 130 events. Events and revenues have gone up, while expenses have gone down, so we’re proud of what we’ve done in the first three years of operation.” In the area of technology enhancements, Spectra came on board at the facility in April 2017, and since then have installed a new point-of-sale system (Bypass Mobile, based in Austin, Texas) with user-friendly tablets to operate all other food and beverage transactions, as well as parking and other transactions. They are easily portable throughout the different venues. Ford Park has also made a shift through its ticketing provider, Ticketmaster, to now have the ability to accept mobile tickets. Attendees can present a ticket for entry on their mobile phone, have it scanned right at the door, and not require a printed ticket to enter the premises. Moving forward, the complex is now investigating areas to increase Wi-fi capabilities. Spectra has over 400 management accounts across the country, which results in buying power for booking acts and bulk purchasing. Oliveira explains, “We have regularly scheduled