Why isn’t add_image_size(‘event-secondary-image-thumbnail’, 250, 150) working?

You need fourth $crop parameter set to true (default is false):

  add_image_size('event-secondary-image-thumbnail', 250, 150, true);

The change will be visible once you upload new image or regenerate existing ones.

Referrence 1: Hard Crop VS Soft Crop

Referrence 2: Add Image Size – Codex