KHP SPONSORSHIP - Big Barn Sponsorship

The Kentucky Horse Park, an agency of the Commonwealth of Kentucky within the Tourism Arts & Heritage Cabinet, is issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) soliciting sponsorship responses for its Big Barn facility located in Fayette County. The Big Barn houses draft horses and displays carriages, serving as a major attraction for the Kentucky Horse Park's annual 1.7 million visitors. Prospective sponsors must submit responses via the Vendor Self Service website by April 30, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., with no site visits or bidders' conferences specified. The sponsorship opportunity requires a minimum initial term of two years with two additional two-year renewal periods available. Technical proposals are evaluated on a 100-point scale, comprising responsiveness (20 points), respondent background and history (20 points), and sponsorship response detailing offered items or monetary contributions (60 points), with responses scoring 80 or above accepted for consideration. Selected sponsors receive marketing benefits including facility signage, website recognition with hyperlinks, logo placement on digital and video boards, social media promotion, exhibit space opportunities, discounted venue rental at 25 percent off, up to five complimentary passes, and the right to market themselves as a sponsor, though not as an "official" sponsor per statutory restrictions.

Sponsorship fees are structured in two formats: cash only at $30,000 per year, or a combination of $20,000 cash plus $10,000 in in-kind products per year, with respondents required to clearly designate their preferred payment method. Proposers offering in-kind products must demonstrate that such products satisfy documented needs of the Kentucky Horse Park as defined under applicable Kentucky statutes. No incumbent sponsor is identified in the solicitation, and no set-asides are noted for disadvantaged enterprises or specific organization types, meaning all qualified respondents are eligible to compete. The Kentucky Horse Park anticipates over 200 annual events and maintains an annual visitor base of more than 1.7 million from local, national, and international sources, providing substantial marketing exposure for selected sponsors. Award values are contingent upon the sponsor's selected payment structure, ranging from $30,000 annually for cash-only sponsorships to $30,000 annually for combined cash and in-kind arrangements, multiplied by the contract term of two years with optional renewals.