The specification for the tender has now been agreed, albeit not unanimously: Som Palma (Podemos) abstained. The period for the tender will be between July and August, and the winning bidder will have four months to get the whole site up and running.
The company's president, Palma's tourism councillor, Joana Maria Adrover, was asked if this will mean that the Palacio will be open for business by the end of the year, as had been envisaged. She said that this would depend on the winning bidder's "capacity for reaction". As there is a four-month period after the adjudication is due to be made, then this end-of-year prediction might seem rather hopeful.
Biel Barceló, the regional vice-president, said that "the most important" thing was that the operator should have experience in managing convention centres. He hopes that the winning company will be able to "maximise performance" at the complex in the low and medium seasons.
As previously announced, the minimum cost to rent the whole complex will be 1,585,000 euros plus VAT per annum. The award will be for 15 years with an optional three-year extension.
A further aspect of the specification is that the minimum number of attendees will need to be 50,000 per annum by the fifth year. This has been raised from 35,000, the increase having been made following criticisms from members of the Partido Popular and Ciudadanos who had pointed out that the previous tender had included a specification demand of 65,000.
The PP's Alvaro Gijón, having seen the financial study by the consultants Deloitte to support the specification, argues that the conditions have been lowered - both the number of attendees and the income.
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I agree. The only way the Town Hall / Local government will get it off the ground without costing the tax payer, i.e. us, any money, will be to lease it cost 0 to a reputable firm, taking a share of the profits, if any.
As per a previous comment on this matter,I can't see that happening for one minute,many such venues here in the UK with it's much higher population don't get those kind of attendences and the building and running costs of this thing just don't suggest that it will make a profit for many years to come.