Dallas park director on flawed Fair Park contract: ‘Never again’

Perturbed by the weaknesses in the contracts to operate Fair Park, Dallas Park and Recreation Department Director John Jenkins said Thursday the city will “never again enter into an agreement with this contractual structure because of the flaws that have been revealed,” according to a memo obtained by the Dallas Morning News.
Jenkins said park officials will ensure they are “the lead on contract negotiations” on projects the department manages going forward.
The memo comes amid growing pressure to fix Fair Park’s governing structure, which leaves Fair Park First, the park’s nonprofit manager, without critical financial and managerial power to decide the park’s future. Oak View Group, the park’s operator that controls accounting, payroll, bonds and insurance, has no contractual relationship with the city.
“The consequence of this contractual structure is that we have very little ability to examine or oversee the entity that is actually operating the park on our behalf,” Jenkins said.
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The News raised the deficiencies in the contract last month. Reporting showed the Park Board, typically the primary overseer of park-related negotiations, was cut out of the process in reviewing the sub-management contract between Fair Park First and Oak View Group.
This is the first time park staffers have officially indicated latent friction with OVG360, the venue management division of the Oak View Group. In his memo, Jenkins said the city has the right to request the removal of the general manager — an OVG360 executive — in what little oversight authority the city currently has.
In a statement Thursday evening to The News, an OVG spokesperson said the global venue management company has “at all times abided by all terms and conditions of its contract to manage Fair Park,” including providing to Fair Park First annual budgets, capital improvement plans, monthly and yearly financial statements, and year-end audits conducted by an independent third-party auditor.
According to OVG, it is Fair Park First’s responsibility to provide all required updates to the city.
“We look forward to working with the City and the new leadership at Fair Park First to optimize the structure of the relationships to better ensure transparency and address any of the City’s concerns,” the statement said. “Oak View Group is committed to working in tandem with all parties to ensure the Park has a sustainable future.”
In 2022, park officials requested the removal of former OVG top official Peter Sullivan following financial and operational concerns the Park Board president received.
“It took OVG360 a very lengthy amount of time to fulfill our request to fully remove the General Manager, and that did not occur until the end of 2023 and only after determined insistence by Park staff,” Jenkins said.
Documents obtained by The News show management of several events at the city’s crown landmark was under scrutiny in 2022 under Sullivan.
The 2022 audit of three events conducted by the city of Dallas found OVG360, a division of Oak View Group, and Fair Park First failed to properly monitor revenue from parking, merchandise and food and beverage sales.
In a statement to The News, an OVG spokesperson said the circumstances of the 2022 audit were “isolated” and “event-specific situations.”
OVG “proactively responded and addressed” issues found in the audit with the Fair Park First board and the city, according to the spokesperson.
After Stacey Church, the current general manager, was brought on board, officials delved deeper into financial issues. Jenkins also noted it was around this time a whistleblower came forward with information concerning “potential financial issues related to donor-restricted funds.”
Former Fair Park First CEO Brian Luallen then initiated another audit.
The audit is expected to reveal the scope of restricted donor funds potentially used to pay day-to-day operations. Veletta Forsythe Lill, the current Fair Park First Board Chair, told Park Board members last week the audit was still a work in progress.