On May 8, the Hunt, Green & James firm planned to host a group of children and their parents for that evening’s stunt-filled “Nitro Circus” show in the Veterans Memorial Arena suite they’d received as part of a sponsorship agreement.
It was the same day SMG sent the firm a letter saying that agreement had been terminated. Attached were invoices totaling almost $67,000 and word that its suite agreement also was over.
Instead of a fun night of high-flying electricity, it was phone calls to parents and children informing them about the situation.
The firm in October signed an amended three-year agreement that it would pay $336,000 — $96,000 the first year, $120,000 for each of the the next two — in exchange for advertising, signage, sponsorships and suite access.
It was the firm’s exterior advertising on the arena that led to the controversy and pushback by some in the community. The displays were deemed illegal May 7 by the city’s Office of General Counsel, which said they violated city and state laws.
But trouble in the deal can been seen more than a month earlier.
In a March 27 letter from the firm to SMG, Hunt, Green & James questioned why the $8,000 per month payments weren’t being processed. It also explained additional charges for creating signage hadn’t been paid because receipts weren’t presented.
And the letter claimed City Council member Bill Bishop had breached a “confidentiality agreement” by talking about details of the contract to the media. It was about that time when the pushback on the signs began.
A month later and with the issue still heavily debated, the firm sent SMG another letter.
This time, it was a settlement offer in response to the alleged confidentiality breach and city’s failure to act in good faith and comply with the agreement. The settlement included the firm’s money refunded, keeping all its signage up until April, 30, 2016, and continued suite access with a $20,000 beverage credit — up from the $10,000 figure in place.
Firm principal Nick James said there hasn’t been a settlement or communication with SMG since that time.
But, since then, council passed a bill that laid out a process for all future exterior signage on the arena and other-related venues.
James said he has followed the conversations and council action, but called the overall dealings with SMG and the city over the issues “frustrating.” An exception could have been applied to the Florida Department of Transportation for the signs that violated state law, he said, but SMG and the city didn’t apply.
“They didn’t make what we thought were reasonable offers,” he said, referring to trying to remedy the situation.
He also saw issue with the legal opinion and the way that was handled.
But as for any possible next move, James said that hasn’t been determined. There hasn’t been any type of settlement, which has left the firm reviewing the situation and weighing its options.
Alex Alston, SMG Jacksonville director of sales and marketing, said Monday morning the company was working to find a resolution.
He said the firm has taken a path the company disagrees with, but SMG is still open to doing business with the firm in the future.
The May 8 letter was the last communication with the firm, he said.
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