Todd Chaput, chairman of the Lewis County Public Facilities District, discusses how the sports commission will operate at a Wednesday night forum at the Holiday Inn in Chehalis.
A public forum explaining the mission of the soon-to-be-established sports commission was held on Wednesday night to clear up any misconceptions and to provide more information on how the commission will attract large sporting events to the Northwest Sports Hub, in turn spurring the local economy.
Todd Chaput, chairman of the Lewis County Public Facilities District, led the forum at the Holiday Inn in Chehalis
The sports commission is funded by a new taxing district established by hotels and motels in Centralia and Chehalis. The creation of the tourism promotion area, which will fund the sports commission, placed a $2 tax per night at local lodging establishments within the Twin Cities.
The sports commission will be a subcommittee of the Lewis County Public Facilities District which oversees the Northwest Sports Hub.
The PFD was formed by the Lewis County Commissioners in August 2007 and is funded through a three-tenths of a one percent of state sales tax collected in Lewis County. No new taxes were added to fund the PFD. Instead Chaput explained the state rebates the PFD with state sales tax that is already being collected.
The mission of the PFD is to “create an economic generator that will bring people from all over the northwest by offering a unique and quality product.”
It was determined that the Northwest Sports Hub is that economic generator by bringing in thousands of people into the local community through large scale tournaments held at the Centralia facility.
On average, each individual’s expense increases three-fold if overnight lodging is required, according to Chaput. Conservative numbers provided show that for each person who stays at a motel or hotel in the area, $100 is spent per day on other activities which include shopping at local stores and eating out at local restaurants.
Tourism Promotion Area and Sports Commission
The TPA took about a year and a half to create. The Northwest Sports Hub and local lodging establishments came together to decide how to further promote sports, because as Chaput said, “that’s what really brings people to our area.”
The TPA and the associated tax at lodging establishments within the Twin Cities in turn funds a sports commission, a subcommittee of the PFD, which will promote and market the local sports facilities in the area.
The 13 member board of the sports commission will help the local communities compete against larger ones like Tacoma, to bring in sporting events, and increase regional awareness of the area, while providing an information conduit to local businesses, groups and to the general public, Chaput said.
“The sports commission will work as a hub to disseminate information,” Chaput said, adding that businesses will be made aware when tournaments are going to be held so they can ensure they have the inventory and staff needed to meet the increased demand.
In 2017, sporting events at the Northwest Sports Hub are expected to bring in 17,000 players and 43,000 visitors which in turns will lead to about 22,000 room nights purchased at lodging establishments in the area. That would result in about $2.4 million in hotel revenue, which will bring in an additional $48,000 in lodging tax revenue which is later allocated to nonprofits to fund certain projects that in turn target out of the area visitors.
An estimated $4.3 million in local revenue would be generated, with $344,000 in tax revenue, according to Chaput.
The sports commission could also function as a travel agent, which is a popular method utilized by tournament promoters to book lodging for large groups involved in the tournaments. According to Chaput, there have been problems in the past when the often times out of state travel managers attempt to book accommodations for those coming to the area, sometimes booking hotels outside of Lewis County.
“We can do it better, keep customers happy and do it cheaper,” Chaput said.
By keeping those individuals local, Chaput said it would bring the annual occupancy threshold to around 70 percent at hotels, a threshold that big branded hotels need to see before expanding into an area.
“It’s important to keep it local because when a big tournament comes Thurston County hotels are half an hour away and we are filling them right now,” he said. “And they don’t supply any lodging tax to us, TPA tax, or sales tax. … We built this great facility and Thurston County wins.”
If the sports commission took a small percentage in commission from booking hotel rooms, much like travel agents do now, the position would be sell funding.
“The potential is huge,” Chaput said, stating the sports commission could create its own travel commission that would focus on Lewis County.
The money generated from the tourism promotion area, which in turn funds the sports commission, will be collected starting next month. As the money works its way through the state Department of Commerce, there will be a two month lag, meaning the money won’t be available until June.
Several people at the meeting were excited to see this project move forward.
“I think the Northwest Sports Hub is the economic engine the community all my life has been waiting for,” Mary Kay Nelson, with White Pass Scenic Byway said. “I totally believe in every aspect of it.“
Nelson said the White Pass Scenic Byway would like to work cooperatively with the sports commission to get more people to the byway and to extend their stay.
“I liken it to having a car that we’ve all got now, but if we don’t put money into it, if we don’t put gas into that car, it’s not going to go anywhere. ... We all have to jump on board, we have to support those things that are making a difference. … and keep regenerating that lodging tax because the more it generates, the more we’ve got to spend and it’s self-fulfilling a lot of resources, Nelson said.”
