MISSISISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY Request for Proposals (RFP) MSU #14-47 Exclusive Wi-Fi and Related Fan Experience Technology Services for Davis Wade Stadium and other Athletic Venues ISSUE DATE: April 2, 2015 ISSUING AGENCY: Office of Procurement and Contracts Mississippi State University 610 McArthur Hall 245 Barr Avenue Mississippi State, MS 39762
Sealed Proposals, subject to the conditions made a part hereof, will be received May 5, 2015, at 2:00 PM in the MSU Office of Procurement and Contracts, same address above, for furnishing services described herein. IMPORTANT NOTE: Indicate firm name and RFP number on the front of each sealed proposal envelope or package. Direct all inquiries concerning this RFP to: Don Buffum at
[email protected] A. Note 1: A pre-proposal conference will be held in the 5th Floor Conference Room, McArthur Hall, 245 Barr Avenue, Mississippi State, MS at 10:00 AM on April 16, 2015. B. Note 2: Questions concerning the specifications in this Request for Proposals must be submitted in writing and will be accepted until 2:00 PM on April 21, 2015. A summary of all questions and answers will be posted at http://www.procurement.msstate.edu/procurement/bids/index.php as an addendum located under RFP 14-47. The questions, answers, and any revisions to the RFP will be posted April 24, 2015. C. Note 3: It is the respondent's responsibility to assure that all addenda have been reviewed and, if applicable, signed and returned.
1) UNIVERSITY OVERVIEW Mississippi State University (MSU) is seeking proposals from qualified providers to enhance the use of technology within Davis-Wade stadium and other athletic venues in an effort to maximize the game day experience of the fans, staff, players and coaches. While MSU envisions such a proposal could include such enhancements as Wi-Fi in the stadium, ability to order food using a smart phone, video screens for view of playback and onsite advertising, etc., we also understand that those in the industry are better positioned to be able to know the current and future capabilities of technology in this environment. It is our intent to enter into a long term agreement with a provider who will install and maintain the necessary equipment and will also be continually looking for new ways to enhance the system(s) so that MSU’s game day experience will continue to be considered a leader in the industry. We also anticipate the availability of various services which may or may not be included in the proposal. It is anticipated that any services offered will also be maintained and continually reviewed for ways to enhance the services to MSU fans. There are multiple possibilities for a business plan for this type of proposal. It is possible that MSU would pay for the installation and maintenance. It is possible that the benefits to MSU and its fans would justify the University allowing a firm to install and maintain with the provider paying MSU a relatively reduced monthly or annual payment. It is possible that the market would allow a provider of certain services to charge fans a minimal fee for the services, of which MSU would anticipate a share. It is possible that the market would allow for the sales of advertising with revenues shared by the provider, MSU and Learfield. At this time MSU is seeking multiple options with the intent of choosing the option that provides the greatest overall value to MSU, its faculty, staff, students and fans. MSU anticipates entering into a five (5) year contract with the option of renewing the contract for up to two additional five (5) year periods. However, MSU will consider other time frames not to exceed a total of 15 years. It should be noted that MSU currently has existing contracts with several providers. Any agreement for enhanced technology must not conflict with existing contracts, and should ideally enhance the benefits of these agreements. Those contracts are as follows: Learfield - all MSU Athletics multi-media rights, including sponsorship, promotional and advertising rights, including at all MSU Athletics venues and digital platforms/screens. During the term of this agreement CSpire shall be designated “Exclusive Wireless Sponsor of Mississippi State Athletics” in all radio, tv, print, internet, and signage. Bulldog Sports Properties (BSP) shall not sell advertising rights to any competitors in any venues or mediums over which CSpire is purchasing. BSP may advertise products and services outside of telecommunications who are not listed as CSpires competitors: Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Cricket, TracFone, SouthernLinc, Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile.
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Aramark - all dining service and game day concession sales for the MSU Campus, including at all MSU Athletics venues. Coca Cola - all beverage service and sales for the MSU Campus, including at all MSU Athletics venues. Barnes and Noble - all gameday merchandise, including at all MSU Athletics venues. AT&T – lease of space for cellular antennas CSpire – lease of space for cellular antennas Verizon – lease of space for cellular antennas
a) MSU is a comprehensive land grant university. There were around 20,000 students enrolled during Spring of 2015. During the Spring of 2015 there were approximately 5,000 faculty and staff. The main campus is located adjacent to the community of Starkville in northeast Mississippi, with a remote campus located in Meridian. Additionally, the university operates several remote agricultural experiment stations and has an Extension office located in each of the eighty-two Mississippi counties. b) MSU has in place an extensive Wi-Fi network, covering all campus administrative and academic buildings, most public outdoor areas, and certain areas of Davis Wade Stadium, Humphrey Coliseum, and other athletic venues. The existing Wi-Fi network is designed primarily for supporting MSU students and employees, with Wi-Fi being used at Athletic facilities for serving visiting press members and to support administrative functions such as scanning of tickets. The existing Wi-Fi network is not designed to support large crowds of fans at sporting events in the Athletic venues.
c) MSU is seeking comprehensive proposals to provide any or all of the following services: Wi-Fi Services for Davis Wade Football Stadium and, optionally, other athletic venues located on the Starkville campus and related technology services that might enhance the fan experience at those venues. The new services must be proposed, designed, implemented, and maintained such that they co-exist with and do not interfere with the existing MSU Wi-Fi network environment, and this coexistence must be collaboratively maintained as both systems are upgraded and modified in the future. Any data collected under the resulting agreement shall be the property of MSU . d) MSU is a member of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The names of each Athletic venue, the sports played at each venue and the capacity of the venue are shown below:
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i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii.
Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, Men’s Football, 61,337 Humphrey Coliseum, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, 10,500 Polk/Dement Stadium at Dudy Noble Field, Men’s Baseball, 14,000 Newell Grissom, Women’s Volleyball, 2,000 Soccer, Women’s Soccer, 500 Softball, Women’s Softball, 750 Spencer Stadium/Maddox Track, Men’s and Women’s Track, 3500 A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, Men’s and Women’s Tennis, 1000
e) Additional information about MSU can be found at our website www.msstate.edu and hailstate.com. f) MSU, through its Information Technology Services (ITS) department, maintains an extensive on-campus fiber optic cable infrastructure. MSU is open to proposals that utilize this infrastructure for an appropriate fee.
2) INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSAL ON RFP MSU invites qualified respondents to join us in establishing an exclusive relationship to maintain the highest quality technology services for our customers and create new opportunities providing substantial benefits for both MSU and the successful respondent. 3) INQUIRIES ABOUT RFP Prospective respondents may make written inquiries concerning this request for proposal to obtain clarification of requirements. Responses to these inquiries may be by addendum to the Request for Proposal (RFP). The deadline for inquiries shall be April 21, 2015. Please send your inquiries to Don Buffum at
[email protected] a) All inquiries should be marked “URGENT INQUIRY. MSU RFP # 14-47”
4) ADDENDUM OR SUPPLEMENT TO RFP a) In the event it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP, an addendum to this RFP will be posted at http://www.procurement.msstate.edu/procurement/bids/index.php. Respondents shall not rely on any other interpretations, changes or corrections.
5) ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION a) ISSUING OFFICE i) This RFP is issued by the following office: Office of Procurement and Contracts
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Mississippi State University 610 McArthur Hall 245 Barr Avenue Mississippi State, MS 39762
b) SCHEDULE OF CRITICAL DATES i) The following dates are for planning purposes only unless otherwise stated in this RFP progress towards their completion is at the sole discretion of the university. (1) RFP Posted
April 2, 2015
(2) Pre-Proposal Conference and Site Visit
April 16, 2015
(3) Prospective Respondents Written Inquiries Deadline
April 21, 2015
(4) Responses to Inquiries posted
April 24, 2015
(5) Proposal Submission Deadline – 2:00 p.m. (6) Award Date (Estimated Target)
May 5, 2015 June 18, 2015
(7) Contract Effective Date
July 1, 2015
6) PROPOSAL CONTENTS a) At a minimum, the following items should be included in the contents of the proposal: i) Cover letter, indicating the scope of the proposal, specifically indicating the services being proposed. The letter should include a statement of exceptions to any of the terms and conditions outlined in this RFP. (Cover letter should be no more than 3 pages in length.) ii) Corporate Structure and Credentials (1) Number of years of experience (2) A minimum of three (3) major customers for whom you provide similar services in size and facility structure, including contact information for the accounts. (3) A listing of all major accounts terminated in the last five (5) years with reason for termination and account, contact information. (4) Staffing levels and support proposed.
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(5) Provide information on those individuals assigned to work with MSU, including a description of their experience. Specifically, identify one service manager to handle MSU’s account including his/her name, qualifications and other accounts assigned to this manager (6) Proposals should include a description of the security plan used by the proposing firm to ensure adequate background checks on employees. MSU would be strongly opposed to having individuals on campus (installing equipment, servicing equipment, etc.) that could be considered a potential danger to the University, its faculty, staff, students and visitors. iii) Operations and Ability To Perform (1) Submit one or more options which may include but are not limited to the following: (a) Provide detailed plan of equipment to be installed, including type, size, location and required wiring, space, etc. (b) Provide details of firm’s operational support and engineering capabilities. (c) Provide details of any services or support to be provided by the university. (d) Provide details of any sub-contract work that will be required (e) Provide details of a proposed schedule of activities with an intent of having some systems operational for the 2015 seasons. MSU would like to have services in some parts of Davis Wade for the 2015 season but understands that total completion may not be possible. It should be noted that MSU is planning to make significant changes to the baseball stadium within the next 12 to 36 months and that any wifi installation would most likely be coordinated with those changes. (f) Provide options for; the football stadium only; the basketball arena only; football and basketball; any other facilities or combinations that make economic sense. (g) Provide a description of any risks to MSU as well as how your proposal mitigates risks. (h) Provide detailed plan for marketing the services. (i) Provide details related to revenue sharing models including timing of payments, percentage split, etc. (j) provide details related to the capacity in each facility (k) Provide detailed plan for other benefits to MSU to include services, advertising, etc. (l) Service and quality control procedures, including equipment specifications on equipment proposed and maintenance tracking methods (m) Provide plans for keeping the system up to date so as to continue to provide leading edge technological capabilities to the MSU fans. (n) Provide detailed information security plan to protect the infrastructure, services, and data from leak, compromise, hack, and other information technology threats. Plan must address adherence to Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards, regulations, requirements, and best practices. (mandatory) (o) Provide detailed information technology disaster recovery/business continuity plan. (mandatory)
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(p) ) Provide detailed plan to ensure mutually agreeable coexistence with existing campus information technology infrastructure including, but not limited to, the MSU campus WiFi network. iv) Projected Financial cost/return to MSU (1) Submit one or more options which may include but are not limited to the following: (a) Cost to MSU if MSU chooses to install and/or maintain necessary infrastructure for five (5), ten (10), and 15 years (b) Royalties and other financial contribution for five (5), ten (10), and 15 years of contract term (c) Other partnership and sponsorship areas (d) other financial options (2) Signature page (See Appendix A) 7) DISCUSSIONS/EVALUATION CRITERIA/AWARD PROCESS a) MSU reserves the right to conduct discussions with any or all respondents or to make an award of a contract without such discussions based only on evaluation of the written proposals. MSU reserves the right to contact and interview anyone connected with any past or present projects with which the respondent has been associated. MSU likewise reserves the right to designate a review committee to evaluate the proposals according to the criteria set forth under this section. MSU may make a written determination showing the basis upon which the award was made and such determination shall be included in the procurement file. b) MSU reserves the right to award this contract in whole or in part depending on what is in the best interest of MSU with MSU being the sole judge thereof. c) The evaluation factors set forth in this section are described as follows: i) Projected Financial Cost/Return to MSU – This shall be the anticipated revenue or cost to MSU during the term of the contract based upon the proposal. Guaranteed revenues will be considered as well as estimates of revenue. MSU will have sole authority to determine the reasonableness of estimates. ii) Corporate Structure, Credentials and Prior Experience – MSU will be attempting to determine the probability of future success of the program based upon the organizational structure and proven experience of the proposer. iii) Operations and Plan to Perform – MSU will be attempting to determine the probability of success of the program based upon the proposer’s plans for providing the service. iv) Efficiencies and Sustainability – MSU will be attempting to determine any increased efficiencies for the institution (examples may include, but are not limited to, a single contractor of all services to reduce book keeping issues; electronic transfer of funds electronic records, etc.) MSU will also be considering ‘Sustainability’ issues such as, energy conservation, etc.
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d) Proposals for Services will be evaluated by MSU on the following factors: i) Projected Financial Return to MSU
40%
ii) Corporate Structure, Credentials, and Prior Experience
15%
iii) Operations and Plan to Perform
40%
iv) Efficiencies and Sustainability
5%
e) Failure to attend an interview presentation before the committee, may result in a proposal not being considered. f) Upon award of contract(s), successful respondent(s) will be asked to provide a transition plan and timeline and obtain MSU’s input and concurrence before moving forward. 8) TERM OF CONTRACT MSU intend to enter into in a written contract with the selected vendor. Although not an exclusive list of terms, the following terms will be included in the contract: a) MSU anticipates entering into a five (5) year contract with the option of renewing the contract for up to two additional five (5) year periods. However, MSU will consider other time frames not to exceed a total of 15 years. While MSU intends to enter into a contract and expects to stay with the same vendor for the full term of the contract, it is understood that during a 5 to 15 year span, there can be vast changes in technology, economy, marketing, services, student preferences and products. Such changes may require that MSU consider alternate methods or other vendors. Therefore, MSU asks that proposals include an opportunity for early termination right. MSU understands that such a right may require MSU to compensate the selected vendor for the vendor’s financial investment if MSU exercises its early termination right. . We would anticipate that this would be on a pro-rated basis wherein a cancellation in year 8 would require a much smaller payoff than a cancellation in year 2. b) MSU reserves the right to terminate any agreement with the selected vendor with thirty (30) days notice by the Director, Procurement and Contracts, via certified mail to the address listed on the signature page of this RFP (See Appendix E) if any of the material terms of the proposal and/or contract are violated. In the event of termination of the contract and a new RFP process is initiated by MSU, the current vendor and MSU agree to give reasonable access and inspection of equipment and service locations to the other 8
interested respondents. The successful respondent shall be allowed access to the premises at reasonable times within the six (6) month period prior to the termination of the contract and during the bid period. Said successful respondent shall not disrupt the operation while exercising this privilege. c) The selected vendor will be expected to warrant that its equipment or services vendor will not interfere with existing wireless provider agreements or distributed antenna system (DAS) agreements. Such agreements may be extended or renewed at the University’s discretion. d) The system proposed will in no way subject the University to a change of status with regard to any existing laws, regulations, policies or requirements mandated at the federal, state or local level, e.g., CALEA at the federal level, MissiON at the state level, etc. e) All equipment must have prior approval from the University’s Facilities Planning department, Information Technology Services, and Athletics prior to installation. f) No vendor will be permitted to install copper, fiber or any other infrastructure on the campus unless approved in writing by the university. g) The selected vendor will be expected to warrant that the operation or installation of any equipment will in no way interfere with or negatively impact the operation of any existing or future university wireless communication services, including Wi-Fi, DAS system or general network infrastructure. h) The selected vendor will be expected to warrant full PCI compliance and adherence to industry standard information security measures and best practices. The vendor will assume full responsibility for the security and integrity of the installed infrastructure. i) The vendor shall remit to MSU, on or before the tenth (10) day of each quarter, the royalty amount due from the previous quarter. j) The vendor shall acknowledge that an independent contractor relationship is established and that the employees of the vendor are not, nor shall they be deemed employees of MSU and that employees of MSU are not, nor shall they be, deemed employees of the vendor.
9) PROPOSAL SUBMISSION a) Proposals shall be submitted in one package (envelopes or boxes) marked as “RFP# 1447” in the lower left hand corner. The package shall include the technical proposal and a revenue proposal
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b) Technical Proposal – One (1) original and an electronic copy in the form of a thumb drive or disk of 6(a)(i) (Cover Letter), 6(a)(ii) (Corporate Structure and Credentials), and 6(a)(iii) (Operations and Ability to Perform). Each submitted package should be a complete copy. The original shall be marked on the first page “Original”. c) Revenue Proposal – One (1) original and an electronic copy in the form of a thumb drive or disk of of part 6(a)(iv) (Projected Financial Return to MSU). Each submitted package should be a complete copy. The original shall be marked on the first page “Original”. d) The proposal package must be received on or before 2:00 p.m. on May 5, 2015. It is the responsibility of the respondent to ensure that the proposal package arrives in the Procurement and Contracts office on-time. The proposal package should be delivered or sent by mail to: Office of Procurement and Contracts Mississippi State University 610 McArthur Hall 245 Barr Avenue Mississippi State, MS 39762
e) Your response must include the signature page included in this RFP (See Appendix E) and contain the signature of an authorized representative of the respondent’s organization. The signature on the “Original” signature page should be in blue ink f) MSU reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received and to accept any portion of a proposal or all items bid if deemed in the best interest of the University to do so. g) Proposals received after the stated due date and time will be returned unopened. Submission via facsimile or other electronic means will not be accepted. 10) Two Phase, Best and Final Offer If the initial proposals do not provide MSU with a clear and convincing solution, or if MSU feels it is appropriate to offer the potential providers an opportunity to submit revised proposals, MSU reserves the right to use a two phase approach and/or invite Best and Final Offers (BAFO). Based on the information obtained through the proposal submittals (Phase-1), MSU may choose a specific business model and potential providers may be asked to submit revised proposals based upon that specific model. The evaluation committee will develop, for distribution to the top-ranked firms, refined written terms with specific information on what is being requested as a result of information obtained through initial RFP submittal process. Proposers may be asked to reduce cost or provide additional clarification to specific sections of the RFP. Selected proposers are not required to submit a BAFO and may submit a written response notifying
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the solicitation evaluation committee that their response remains as originally submitted.
11) ACCEPTANCE TIME a) Proposal shall be valid for one-hundred and fifty (150) days following the proposal due date. 12) RFP CANCELLATION a) This RFP in no manner obligates MSU to the eventual purchase of any services described, implied or which may be proposed until confirmed by a written contract. Progress towards this end is solely at the discretion of MSU and may be terminated without penalty or obligations at any time prior to the signing of a contract. MSU reserves the right to cancel this RFP at any time, for any reason, and to reject any or all proposals or any parts thereof. 13) PREPROPOSAL CONFERENCE D. A pre-proposal conference will be held in the 5th Floor Conference Room, McArthur Hall, 245 Barr Avenue, Mississippi State, MS at 10:00 AM on April 16, 2015. All interested respondents are strongly encouraged to attend. 14) OTHER CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS a) Award Terms: This contract shall be awarded at the discretion of MSU based on the capabilities and overall reputation of the supplier, as well as the proposed revenue to MSU. Acceptance shall be confirmed by the issuance of a contract from MSU. b) Taxes: The university is exempt from state sales tax. In addition, sales tax collected on sales on campus, but outside the city limits of Starkville, MS, must be reported separately from sales inside the city limits though the Mississippi State Tax Commission, city division reporting. c) Payment Terms: Payment for products purchased by MSU will be made within 45 days after service is received, accepted, and proper invoice is submitted for payment. d) Standard Contract: The awarded vendor will be expected to enter into a contract that is in substantial compliance with the terms set forth in this RFP and MSU’s standard contract for services which can be found at the following site http://www.procurement.msstate.edu/contracts/index.php Proposal should include any desired changes to the standard contract. It should be noted that there are many clauses which MSU cannot change (see MSU’s Mandatory Addendum at the above site. Significant changes to the standard contract may be cause for rejection of a proposal.
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15) The Procurement Process: The following is a general description of the process by which a firm will be selected to fulfill this Request for Proposal. i) Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued to prospective suppliers. ii) A pre-proposal conference will be held. iii) A deadline for written questions is set. iv) Proposals will be received as set forth in Section 6 and 10. v) Unsigned proposals will not be considered. vi) All proposals must be received by MSU no later than the date and time specified on the cover sheet of this RFP. vii) At that date and time the package containing the proposals from each responding firm will be opened publicly and the name of each respondent will be announced. viii)
Proposal evaluation: MSU will review each proposal.
ix) At their option, the evaluators may request oral presentations or discussions for the purpose of clarification or to amplify the materials presented in the proposal. x) At their option, the evaluators may request a best and final offer. xi) Respondents are cautioned that this is a request for offers, not a request to contract, and that MSU reserves the unqualified right to reject any and all offers when such rejection is deemed to be in the best interest of MSU . xii) The proposals will be evaluated according to the criteria set forth in Section 7.
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APPENDIX A: SIGNATURE PAGE
RFP #14-47 Provide information requested, affix signature and return this page with your proposal: NAME OF FIRM:
________________________________________________
COMPLETE ADDRESS:
________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
TELEPHONE NUMBER: ________________________________________________ AREA CODE/NUMBER
FACSIMILE NUMBER:
________________________________________________ AREA CODE/NUMBER
E-MAIL ADDRESS:
________________________________________________
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE:
________________________________________________
PRINTED NAME:
________________________________________________
TITLE:
________________________________________________
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