Amphitheater Venue Management

The City of Jefferson, Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department, herein referred to as City, invites interested, qualified individuals or firms, herein referred to as proposer, offeror, bidder, venue manager, etc., capable of providing management services or partial services for the Capital Region MU Health Care Amphitheater located at Ellis Porter Riverside Park, 410 Ellis Porter Drive, Jefferson City, MO, to submit a qualifications and cost proposal.

The City is seeking a venue manager with experience in producing special events, concerts, and festivals (herein referred to as events) to assist the City with year-round operations of the amphitheater. Specific services to be included are production, marketing, talent acquisition, sponsorships, staffing, food and beverage management, and traffic control.

The venue manager will provide all services necessary so that events are financially self-sustaining; outsource all event related logistics, tasks, marketing, promotion, and labor. [...] The number of events to be held will be mutually agreed upon by the City and the venue manager. It is desired to have 12 public events per year to include ticketed and non-ticketed events. This may be negotiated with the City.

The venue manager will have the following basic responsibilities:

• Venue Management
• Talent Acquisition and Production
• Food and Beverage Services
• Sales and Marketing
• Staffing
• Reporting
• Any other necessary services not able to be provided by the City

Objectives include contracting with a venue manager that maximizes event activity and operating efficiency of the amphitheater, provides innovative marketing efforts, and provides additional services such as concessions, including alcohol sales. [...] The City's preferred operational model is a blend of festivals, performances, live music, and other cultural programming combined with facility rentals which result in the amphitheater's long-term financial viability [...].

The venue manager will manage all aspects of the booking process to include recruitment of acts, performances, and shows; booking, scheduling, and contracting with and making payment to artists performing at each event as well as all associated costs such as rider requirements.

The venue manager will manage the production of each event to include sound and lighting along with all financial obligations for the same.

The City desires that the venue manager handle all food and beverage (including alcohol) sales for the events at the amphitheater.

The venue manager will staff all operation and production aspects of the amphitheater. Staffing services include, but are not limited to:

• Sound and Lighting
• Ticket/box office operations
• Food and Beverage
• VIP area and services
• Pre-post show VIP events
• Security
• Event staff
• Merchandise vendors
• Seating – Set up, cleanup, ushers
• Venue setup/tear-down
• Transportation/wayfinding
• Traffic/parking plan and control
• Site control: barricades, gates, points of entry, fencing
• Signs

**Submission:** Responses should be submitted electronically through **Bonfire** (https://jeffersoncitymo.bonfirehub.com) or may be submitted hard copy, in a sealed envelope with the RFP number (RFP4406) on the outside of the envelope at the following address: City of Jefferson, Purchasing Division, 320 E McCarty Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101. Regardless of submission method, responses must be received no later than **10:00 a.m. on November 20, 2026**. Public bid opening will not be held.

The qualifications proposal should not exceed 35 double-sided pages, not including any City required forms.

Evaluation

| Criteria | Points |
| --- | --- |
| Letter of Transmittal and Company Background | Pass/Fail |
| Experience and Qualifications | 40 |
| Project Understanding | Pass/Fail |
| Project Approach | 35 |
| Financial Plan and Cost Proposal | 25 |
| Total Points | 100 |

The initial contract period will be three (3) years from the date of contract. The contract, its terms, prices, conditions and specifications may be automatically renewed for up to four (4) additional one-year periods. [...] The contract period may be negotiated.

The contractor shall provide at their own expense all insurance in connection with the operations of this contract. The insurance requirements are as specified in the sample contract. See Exhibit 1, Sample Contract.

You may visit the amphitheater at any time. If you need access to locked areas, please contact Aaron Grefrath at agrefrath@jeffersoncitymo.gov to schedule a time.