St. Cloud City Council Discusses River’s Edge Funding Options

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- St. Cloud city leaders discussed funding the River's Edge Convention Center on Monday night. The debate happened during the presentation of the Enterprise Fund Budget during the City Council meeting.

Council member George Hontos says the River's Edge has never reached its potential.

The major concern is that we are so heavily dependent on the Food and Beverage Tax and the Hotel/Motel Tax.  The operating revenues account for roughly one half of the total revenues.  That's terrible.

The River's Edge is supported primarily by user fees but also receives 40 percent of the city's Hotel/Motel Tax for operating expenses. Revenue from the City's one percent Food and Beverage Tax is used to pay the debt service payment.

Hontos says the city needs to take another look at naming rights for the facility or bring in a private management company to run it.

Mayor Dave Kleis says they have looked at that option in the past.

We did an RFQ for people to develop, but we couldn't find anybody who was willing to take it over when we looked at privatizing it without having the same types of fees that you are talking about.

Council member Mike Conway says the Chamber and Visit Greater St. Cloud work hard to promote the facility.

Is it 100 percent being marketed the way it could be, I don't know.  I rely on Greater St. Cloud and the Convention and Visitors Bureau to know those things.  One of the assets of the city is the River's Edge.  If we privatize that it's no longer something we as a city can promote because it's not ours.

Council member Jake Anderson says he wouldn't be in favor of selling off the facility, but he would be open to a private management company to run it similar to the one that operates the Ledge Amphitheater for Waite Park.

Hontos says if the River's Edge was reaching its potential the tax money could be moved over to the Municipal Athletic Complex to help pay for needed upgrades to that facility.

Get our free mobile app

The budget passed by the city Monday night includes an annual three percent rate increase for rentals. The River's Edge Convention Center Budget for 2024 is at $3,746,800, a $289,000 increase from 2023.

The city expects the number of conferences at the River's Edge to be at 125 in 2024, the most since before the pandemic.

READ RELATED ARTICLES

• Gas Prices Fall Below $3 in Minnesota 
• 25th Anniversary of Downtown St. Cloud Gas Explosion
• St. Cloud Community Ed Class Cooks Up Fun in the Kitchen
• Salvation Army Asking for Help After Fire Shuts Down Shelter
• St. Cloud, Waite Park Approve 10 Year Fire Response Agreement