City Council approves Expo Center agreement

A major renovation to the Fredericksburg Expo & Conference Center is one step closer thanks to unanimous action by Fredericksburg City Council on Tuesday evening.

City Council approved an agreement with the Expo Center operator, SAJ Entertainment LLC, and the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority (EDA) that will lead to $750,000 in improvements to the facility over the next five years.

The City and SAJ Entertainment, whose principals are the same as the Fredericksburg Nationals, will each invest $250,000 upfront into the facility through the agreement. That will lead to much-needed improvements to the Expo Center’s HVAC system, carpeting and furnishings. The City’s funds will come from the Economic Development Opportunity Fund.

The City will invest an additional $50,000 a year for the next five years toward more improvements to the Expo Center such as painting, lighting, security, audio-visual and more. Those funds will come from tax revenue generated by the Expo Center. A recent analysis by Renaissance Planning showed that the Expo Center generates more than $800,000 in tax revenue annually for the City. Through the agreement, the City will get additional marketing exposure at the Expo Center and on the Virginia Credit Union Stadium’s Interstate 95 electronic sign.

The agreement will be before the Fredericksburg EDA for approval Monday morning. The EDA will separately consider a $250,000 loan to SAJ Entertainment.

Additional details about this agreement can be found here.

The Expo Center improvement project could get under way within the next few months. To read more about the Expo Center, click here.