May 20, 2026 8:40p
(WGTD)---A contract dispute between Racine and the company that runs Festival Hall and Memorial Hall for the city boiled over at a city council meeting this week.
5K Events owner Patrick Flynn accused the city of bad-faith bargaining on a contract extension. "For five months our team has worked without a contract. They show up every day because they believe in the spaces but while we promised to be transparent the city has not," Flynn said on the council floor Tuesday night.
Speaking the next day to WGTD, Mayor Cory Mason said negotiations are underway. "We've been negotiating consistently with 5K," Mason said. "5K has done a great job in filling Festival Hall and Memorial Hall with more events than we've seen."
"We just need to negotiate a contract that gives the city and its taxpayers certainty on what it's going to cost to run Festival Hall and Memorial Hall. And that's the sticking point," Mason said.
Mason accused 5K of not being as transparent as it could.
5K Events took over management duties in 2024 with a pledge to revitalize the two facilities.
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