“6 or 5 Times Productions” has been chosen as the sole Mixed-Martial Arts event coordinator at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.
Before the decision at Wednesday’s Soldotna City Council meeting, Matt Plant with Peninsula Fighting Championships asked for the request for proposal (RFP) process to be thrown out.
Plant: “We kept it alive over the last seven years, it’s been our efforts and now I kind of feel like we’re not against sharing the building but I think getting cut out completely is unacceptable. So I know there was an issue with a couple of events that got missed, deposits, things that were fulfilled but now we’re willing to pay in advance for any events that we do so that won’t be a problem.”
Charlie Karron with 6 or 5 said they had spoken with PFC about sharing the space before and may consider it still.
Karron: “We’re happy with the decision, the RFP process was a request from the city through the user groups, they asked for bids and we put a good packet together and a good bid and thankfully it was approved.”
A couple of council members expressed displeasure of being brought into the selections process, saying the Parks and Recreation Department manages those decisions and technically the City Manager could overrule council’s decision.
Parks and Recreation Director Andrew Carmichael said the booking policy for the sports complex did not apply to the decision they needed to make.
Carmichael: “We went through the RFP process which is similar to what the city does for operations to provide everybody an equal opportunity to put their best foot forward. Ultimately that decision could have been decided on by administration but under the guise of transparency to try to be as above board and as fair as possible, we then took it to the next level of the council’s decision to establish an impartial decision.”
Carmichael said the decision of 6 or 5 as the sole promoter does not prohibit 6 or 5 from co-hosting events with Peninsula Fighting Championships.