The Kitsap Peninsula Visitor & Convention Bureau (KPVCB) announced that it, the Kitsap Public Facilities District (Kitsap PFD) and Kitsap County have formed the Kitsap Peninsula Facilities & Event Coalition. The purpose of the Coalition is to identify existing and potential conference, event, meeting, sport, tournament, and recreation facilities and venues that can be aggressively marketed to achieve maximize public and private economic benefit today and in the future, according to Patricia Graf-Hoke, executive director of the KVPCB.
“The marketing and branding campaign initiated in 2009 to promote the Kitsap Peninsula region is generating increased interest from professional planners and we need to have current information about everything that is currently available so we don’t lose the chance to bid on or host major events,” said Graf-Hoke. While the private sector owns the majority of lodging venues, Kitsap County, local cities and school districts have most conference, exhibition, and tournament facilities on the Kitsap Peninsula. According to Commissioner Garrido, Kitsap County manages some of the busiest and largest venues in the region. This includes the Kitsap County Fairgrounds & Event Center, community centers, and numerous parks and facilities, such as ball fields and golf and popular disc golf courses.
“The County and Kitsap Public Facilities District have invested taxpayer revenues to build, update and maintain our local facilities and we want to see them used to their maximum potential. This not only helps keep quality facilities here, but when our venues host events they bring visitors who generate sales for local businesses — and that creates jobs and a more stable economy,” said Garrido. The City of Bremerton currently owns the Kitsap Conference Center, including the Harborside Room and Fountain Park; Admiral Theatre, Pendergast Park with multiple ball fields. Lions Park, is home to Bremerton High School Auditorium and Stadium, home-turf for the Kitsap PUMAs, Bremerton Ice Arena, and Gold Mountain Golf Course, host of several national and regional tournaments.
The Kitsap Public Facilities District is currently working with the City of Poulsbo on the North Kitsap Regional Event Center, Stawberry Fields and provided the seed money to build the Kitsap Conference Centers and revitalize the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. “The Kitsap PFD has invested approximately $12 million in tax dollars in local venues resulting in $82 million contribution to the local economy.
“The partnership with Kitsap County and the Kitsap Peninsula VCB will make it easier to create strategies to ensure taxpayer funded facilities achieve their economic potential,” said Mike Walton, executive director of the Kitsap PFD. Walton has been named chair of the new coalition and is in the process of developing a list of initial participants. The first meeting is planned for early March.
The coalition will include representatives from the government and private sectors that own or manage facilities and venues that are, or can be, used to attract events and groups from out of the area to the Kitsap Peninsula region, especially for overnight or multi-day events. The goal is to share current and past data regarding facilities, capacity, availability, assets, current/projected needs, and financial considerations. Members will also work together to identify sales, marketing, promotional and co-op media opportunities to increase cost efficiencies and return on investment spent on events and facilities.
Previously developed databases will be updated and expanded to create a master directory and inventory of local facilities and venues. The list will be available online for use by planners and event organizers. The coalition plans to explore conducting a regional competitive market study to determine current and future demand for types of facilities and amenities most likely to attract large events to the Kitsap Peninsula.
Anyone interested in participating in the Coalition is welcome to send an email to venues [at] VisitKitsap [dot] com or to Walton at mwalton [at] kitsap-pfd [dot] org. The Kitsap Peninsula Visitor & Convention Bureau may be reached at (800) 337-0580 and info [at] visitkitsap [dot] com.
