The Department of Economic Development has today announced a delay in the appointment of preferred bidders, Vision Nine, as the Promoter of the TT and Classic TT Races.

The appointment of Vision Nine was approved by Tynwald in April this year with the view to them taking over significant levels of operational, promotional and commercial delivery responsibility for the TT and Classic TT from 2017. Due to the delay, the organisation of the 2017 Events will remain with the Department.

Laurence Skelly MHK, Minister for the Department of Economic Development, commented:

‘The Department has been working closely with Vision Nine over the past few months to finalise the agreement and terms of the appointment, including issues raised by other Government Departments concerning certain operational matters. This has taken longer than envisaged and, as a result, and in order to ensure that plans for the 2017 TT are not adversely affected by the delay, we have taken the decision to defer the start date for the appointment.

‘We are currently working on an agreement to reflect the deferred start date and to incorporate the changes requested by other Departments. We are still looking to work with Vision Nine and hope to conclude the appointment at the earliest opportunity.’

Julian Topham, CEO of Vision Nine, commented:

‘Whilst we are disappointed that the Department has not been able to fully conclude the Promoter Agreement in line with the planned Tender timelines, we also fully recognise the complexity of formulating an agreement in relation to an event that spans a number of Government Departments’ responsibilities.  We are committed to working with the Government to create an operating structure tailored to the needs of the TT and Classic TT.

‘Given these delays it is in the interest of the TT and the TT’s partners that the Department now retains the organisation of the 2017 events and we look forward to taking over as Promoter of the TT and Classic TT for the 2018 editions.’

The proposed contract with preferred T.T. promoter Vision Nine is being examined in finer detail by the Manx Government.

The Chief Secretary Will Greenhow and Acting Attorney General John Quinn are now involved in the process.

Will Greenhow is the head of the Isle of Man Civil Service.

Earlier this week, Manx Radio revealed no deal has been signed - despite the proposal gaining Tynwald approval last April.

Tim Glover has more:-

The Department of Economic Development will continue to organise the T.T. and Classic T.T. meetings next year because of the delay to any agreement.

Other government departments have expressed concern over operational issues and the terms of the appointment are being examined.

Vision Nine has told Manx Radio there is currently no deadline in place for agreement to be reached.

They also say they are in the process of changing their website which is advertising them as promoters for the T.T. and Classic T.T. for ten years starting from 2017.

Listen to what he has to say - HERE

Department ministers complaining about the TT promotions contract had ample time to review it before supporting it in the Council of Ministers - and Tynwald.

That's the stern message from South Douglas MHK Kate Beecroft - who opposed the motion to hand a 10-year contract to Vision Nine.

Government has taken back control of the 2017 TT and Classic TT events.

A deal is yet to be firmed up with the London-based company - which says the Department of Economic Development hasn't provided a timeline yet.

The Infrastructure Minister and Health and Social Care Minister say there are 'finer details' to be worked out beforehand.

Mrs Beecroft says blame doesn't lie solely with the DED Minister.

Listen to what she has to say - HERE

MLC to seek answers about Vision Nine deal

Potential agreement still some way off

An MLC who voted against the Department of Economic Development's plans for the TT says he will be seeking answers.

That comes after the recent announcement the contract between the department and UK company Vision Nine is yet to be signed, with DED retaining control of the TT and Classic TT next year.

That was supposed to have been the first year of ten Vision Nine would take over the running and promotion of the race meetings.

But it emerged last week the two parties were still some way apart on aspects of the deal, and negotiations would be continuing.

Juan Turner MLC says that is telling.

Hear what he has to say - HERE

The devil is in the detail – that’s the reason behind a one-year delay before new TT promoter Vision Nine takes over the event. 

Economic Development Minister Laurence Skelly, said the TT plans were not in jeopardy, but the postponement until 2018 would give all parties more time to thrash out the finer details of the contract. 

‘This received outstanding support in Tynwald and we are now working with Vision Nine on the detailed points. There really is nothing to hide,’ he said. 

The multi-faceted nature of the TT means many different bodies are involved in its organisation, so the challenge is to establish the precise remit of each. 

For example, Vision Nine will take principal responsibility for promoting and publicising the event. But alongside that, the government’s own Motorsports Strategy Group, which includes members of the ACU that organise the races, will deal with organisational and operational matters. 

He pointed out there was also an impact on other bodies such as the government’s Department of Infrastructure, for road maintenance, Department of Health and Social Care, Treasury and roads policing. 

For example, if the targeted extra visitors arrive, there will be additional cost implications to factor in for those departments. ‘The challenge now is to decide exactly how each body’s responsibilities are to be divided up,’ he said. 

Commenting on the delay, he said: ‘We had to ensure that the integrity ofthe 2017 event was not in jeopardy. 

As far as finalising the contract is concerned, that is relatively close. It could be a couple of months away at the most, provided we don’t hit any further complications. It certainly won’t end up being at the last minute before TT 2018. Our expectation is that it will be some time next month.’ 

He added Vision Nine were agreeable to the delay and there was no likelihood of running a further procurement process to appoint a different promoter. 

‘The simple answer is that we have to get this right to preserve the integrity of the event,’ he said. 

Juan Turner MLC voted against the Tynwald motion to appoint Vision Nine as TT promoters and has since said that, when Tynwald returns, the government should refer the matter to the Tynwald standing committee on Economic Policy Review. 

Mr Turner raised concerns over how the contract was awarded to Vision Nine. He criticised the short time scale of the tender process and questioned projected visitor numbers targeted by Vision Nine. 

In March, the government announced it would appoint the London-based company as the new promoter for the TT and Classic TT events, with a start date planned for 2017. 

The company was to invest £2.5 million into the events after it took over from the government’s five-man team. 

Describing the project as a long-term investment, Vision Nine’s Julian Topham said their income would be from sponsorship and broadcasting deals. 

Three members of the original DED TT promotions team were to be given the option to work with Vision Nine, while the remaining two were to continue working for the government department. 

After the announcement was made, an online petition was started in March, calling on the government to reverse the decision to allow an external promoter to run the TT races. It now has more than 1,300 signatures.

John Turner

Bell frustrated by Vision Nine saga

Chief Minister disappointed deal has stalled

The difficulties encountered in the proposed appointment of Vision Nine as the T.T. and Classic T.T. promoter has left the outgoing Chief Minister Allan Bell frustrated.

Since Tynwald approved the move back in April, the deal has been hit by problems brought forward by several government departments since the debate.

Mr Bell has been a long-time critic of the so-called silo-mentality of Manx Government departments.

And he's critical of the Department of Economic Development for not going into enough detail.


Hear what he has to say - HERE

Company quells talk of dispute

Marketing firm Vision Nine has denied suggestions it's seeking compensation, after missing out on promoting the TT and Festival of Motorcyling in 2017.

After it emerged that contracts had still yet to be signed, the Department of Economic Development said government would assume responsibility for next year's events.

Negotiations are said to be ongoing.

A spokesman for Vision Nine responded to talk of a potential financial dispute, saying:

'We are okay with the delay, as long as everything is finalised soon'.

He added: 

'we haven't seen a revised agreement yet, so that's as far as we have got'.