Franklin Co. gets $9M to help turn HAPO Center into year-round event destination

The HAPO Center is in the middle of a renaissance, with Franklin County seeking to turn what was once an agricultural event center into a formidable regional entertainment venue.

But the question looming over the head of Franklin County leaders has been how they would find the money to bring that vision to reality.

That question has now been answered, thanks to more than $9 million in funding.

While HAPO Center is one of the largest event centers in the state, for years only half of its 84,000-square feet has been suitable for events year-round. The half of the facility that was once an arena doesn’t have the heating and cooling to accommodate large events like the exposition hall.

Right now the arena half is being rented by Clubhouse Sports for athletic training and youth sports, because it largely isn’t suitable for events most of the year.

They’re likely to have enough left over to also fix issues with the parking lot and potentially make some aesthetic upgrades, County Administrator Mike Gonzalez told the Herald.

“We haven’t done much maintenance to the building over the years, it kind of injects money into that realm where we can take some steps to,” Gonzalez said. “It’s like we’ve had half a building for decades. This will expand the uses and give us opportunities to have other kinds of events. It opens economic opportunities.”

Franklin County used $6 million in American Rescue Plan funds to replace the HVAC system in the exposition hall, and they expect the arena side to be comparable. That leaves $3 million for parking lot upgrades, exterior touch ups and more.

Gonzalez is also hoping they have a line on another $3 million in federal funding that will allow them to use the center to support the region during emergencies.

Where’d the money come from?

It’s no secret that Franklin County is in the middle of a budget crunch, ahead of an anticipated shortfall with the end of supplemental pandemic-related funds last year.

They had hoped to get the HAPO Center to a point where it was making money for the county, but that was seeming like more and more of a long shot as they looked for ways to shore up their coffers.

In fact, Consor, which conducted a budget analysis for the county suggested they consider selling the center or land around it. The county wasn’t willing to do that just yet, having only recently brought in a new management team with a vision to bring the former agricultural event and rodeo facility into the 21st century.

Gonzalez told the Herald they made an investment in a new county job to advocate for their needs, as well as a partnership with a lobbying firm, Water Street Public Affairs, to bring some money back to Franklin County. Through local partnerships and state lobbying efforts they managed to secure $9.2 million in total.

Gonzalez said new Government Affairs Coordinator Jason Valentine worked with Commissioner Stephen Bauman, who joined the three man board in January, to make their case as Tri-Cities lawmakers headed to Olympia for the 2024 legislative session.

Tri-Cities lawmakers from the 8th district — state representatives Stephanie Barnard and April Connors and state senator Matt Boehnke — announced Thursday that among the nearly $50 million in money they had secured for the district in the 2024 supplemental operating budget was $3 million in funds for the HAPO Center.

Gonzalez said he was grateful that commissioners Clint Didier and Rocky Mullen recognized the importance of these efforts and supported him in putting together the team. He said he was also grateful for Bauman who hit the ground running and helped make the vision a reality.

“Commissioner Bauman has come in and just done an incredible job working with our elected officials,” Gonzalez said. “He and (Valentine) are putting their blood, sweat and tears into lobbying efforts.”

Gonzalez thanked the 8th district representatives, as well other Eastern Washington lawmakers who threw their weight behind the efforts.

“First I want to thank Representative April Connors who put the original budget proviso into the mix. She believed in our vision. From there, all of our legislators from the Tri-Cities and Eastern Washington stepped into help,” Gonzales said in a news release Friday. “Senator Nikki Torres and Senator Mark Schoesler really went to bat for us. Others who played a huge role included Senator Mark Mullet, Rep. Bryan Sandlin and Rep. Peter Abbarno. We are blessed to have some of best legislators in the state that care about their communities. It was truly a bipartisan effort that will help everyone in our community.”

That funding win comes on the heels of an even larger allocation for the center. Gonzalez said Franklin County has been working with their city and port partners to direct an additional $6.2 million to the facility for long overdue upgrades.

Franklin County is responsible for allocating the Rural County Capital Fund sent back from the state. It’s also known as the .09 Fund because .09 cents of the sales tax collected by the state is sent back to support rural cities and counties. They work with Pasco, the Port of Pasco, Connell, Kahlotus and other rural communities to divide a little over $7 million every year for priority projects.

This year the cities and port agreed to send the bulk of the funds back to Franklin County to support the HAPO Center. About $1 million was also allocated to the port’s industrial and manufacturing infrastructure projects.

Seeking federal funds

Gonzalez said they’re not done lobbying yet. He’s working with Valentine and Bauman to coordinate with Congressman Dan Newhouse, as well as Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell to secure an additional $3 million that will help the county turn the center into even more of an asset for the community.

“These are final mile funding dollars that would put the finishing touches on the facility,” Gonzalez said in the news release. Our vision with the HAPO Center is to create a facility that has minimal impact on the environment and maximum use for the community. It will serve as an emergency shelter in hot and cold months, or for disaster relief. These funds will also make the facility the premier event center in the region. I’m extremely proud of our efforts.”

The federal lawmakers secured similar ‘last-mile’ dollars for infrastructure work at the Port of Pasco’s Darigold and PIC 395 manufacturing hub.

Getting their hands on this funding is part of a larger effort that the county kicked into gear last fall when they brought in the Harris White-Leasure group to take over management of the HAPO Center, formerly called the TRAC center.

HWL is master planning a years-long vision for the facility that they hope will bring in year-round, high quality events. The upgrades to the arena side of the center could also serve to open the door for concerts.

Gonzalez hopes this commitment to revitalizing the center will help the city of Pasco as it decides whether they want to become a full 50-50 partner in the facility ahead of an April deadline.

The city can either become a full partner with half equity in the HAPO Center or the county can buy them out for $1, due to a provision in the contract outlining their original partnership.

He said Pasco’s willingness to support the county with the .09 funds is a great step toward becoming equal partners after years of Franklin County feeling like the city hasn’t helped enough with funding and the city feeling like they don’t have enough of a voice at the table.

As Pasco’s former economic development manager, Gonzalez has seen the shortcomings in the relationship firsthand and said he’s working with City Manager Adam Lincoln to forge a new relationship.

“It’s like a marriage, you want it to be 50-50 and right now our commission doesn’t feel like it’s 50-50,” he said. “Pasco was supportive of the .09 funds, those are the kind of partnerships I’m talking about in the future. We want to keep working together in that capacity.”