Anchorage Assembly weighs retiring 43-year Sullivan Arena ticket surcharge

The Anchorage Assembly is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to retire a per-ticket surcharge at the George M. Sullivan Sports Arena that has been on the books since 1983, replacing it with a higher revenue deposit from the arena's prospective new operator.

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance submitted the proposal, which would repeal Anchorage Municipal Code 10.45.050. The surcharge was created to offset police, transit, and traffic costs the municipality estimated at $9,170 per event. The administration now bills directly for those services, making the surcharge mechanism redundant in its view. In recent years, surcharge revenue has been deposited into the facility's capital-reserve account rather than used to offset those service costs. Chief Administrative Officer William D. Falsey, who prepared the memorandum, wrote that the ordinance is not expected to have significant economic effects.

If the Assembly approves the repeal, prospective operator All in 49 LLC has proposed raising its gross-revenue deposit into the arena's capital reserve from 5% to 6%.

A Surcharge Rarely Collected

The surcharge's history complicates the picture. A February 2026 municipal audit found that required surcharges were not consistently collected or remitted under the prior operator. The audit stated: "Surcharges were not always collected for every ticketed event at Sullivan as required. Specifically, according to the Contractor's financial system, ticket surcharges collected from April 2024 to July 2025 totaled $111,687 and had only been collected for three types of events: a comedy show, a hockey legends event, and hockey games." Events including a car show, arena fights, a dinosaur exhibit, and a food festival showed no surcharge revenue in the contractor's financial system.

Competing Arguments

Some residents have argued that a codified per-ticket surcharge maintains a direct, transparent link between event-driven public safety costs and who pays them, and that eliminating it could shift those costs to the general fund without a dedicated replacement. Event organizers have countered that surcharge-driven ticket price increases reduce attendance and harm event viability at the arena.

The Assembly's vote Tuesday will determine whether the surcharge, last amended in 2003, is finally retired and whether All in 49 LLC's proposed operating arrangement moves forward.