Panel endorses ‘events authority’

A subcommittee of Mitchell’s long-range planning group thinks the community may need an “events authority.”

“An events authority could be established for the purpose of facilitating, coordinating and assisting with the solicitation, promotion and hosting of various community athletic and cultural events,” says a report issued Wednesday by the Visitor Development Subcommittee of Focus 2020.

The report is the fifth of eight to be released this month from Focus 2020, which began its efforts in September. The recommendations in the reports are preliminary and must be reviewed by Focus 2020’s Coordination Assistance Team.

The Visitor Development Subcommittee thinks the Coordination Assistance Team should “consider the feasibility” of an events authority to determine “the proper structure and accountability.”

“However,” the subcommittee’s report says, “we believe it should have specific funding resources and should require paid staffing positions.”

An organization that already helps attract events to Mitchell and promote them is the Mitchell Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is a division of the Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dave Olson, co-chairman of Focus 2020’s Visitor Development Subcommittee, said the subcommittee’s recommendation is to consider — not mandate — the forming of an events authority. As an alternative to forming a new entity, he said, the CVB’s role could be expanded to cover the duties of an events authority.

“There isn’t anything here that says it will be a new entity,” Olson said. “We might be raising the bar of the CVB.”

The committee wrote in its report that “there is a lack of community events coordination. Individual associations take sole responsibility for the solicitation, hosting and staffing of events.” The report also said that “the Chamber of Commerce needs to re-assess its role in events coordination and management, and how it can best assist” in resolving the findings in the report.

CVB Director Hannah Walters said her organization has traditionally helped event planners promote the city and connect visitors to hotels, but the CVB has not participated in the operation of events. She said an events authority could be useful to assist with operational issues.

“Depending on what the role is, I think it could be beneficial,” she said.

Walters thinks the marketing and promotional role should remain with the CVB in order to ensure that such efforts provide a consistent message on behalf of the city. She also has inquired to local athletic associations about increasing the CVB’s role in soliciting events to the city. The role of assisting with event operations could more naturally fall to an events authority, she said.

“An operational focus is definitely a different skill-set than a marketing skill-set,” she said.

Following are the subcommittee’s other findings and recommendations, taken verbatim from the report:

Volunteerism

Findings

1. The ability to host events is dependent on the strength of the respective associations and their underlying volunteers.

2. There is a lack of organized effort to promote community volunteerism. How are businesses encouraged to promote volunteerism amongst their employees?

Recommendation

1. Organizations should be encouraged to develop and maintain a volunteer list.

Corn Palace utilization

Findings

1. There is a lack of clear coordination and accountability for utilization of Corn Palace as relates to tourism and events, including marketing, scheduling and adequacy of the facility. 2. The use of the Corn Palace for tourism attraction and event functions are not consistently compatible. 3. It was reaffirmed that the Corn Palace is inadequate for major state events.

4. Tourism still matters.

5. The Corn Palace has not adapted to changing tourism tastes and travel.

6. The Corn Palace is an indispensable asset to the identity of the City of Mitchell.

Recommendations

1. Regardless of the outcome of an events center, an investment in the Corn Palace is essential if it is to remain a part of Mitchell’s identity, to include structural improvements and enhancing the tourism experience.

2. Separation of tourism and events activities may be advisable.

3. Separation of physical space between tourism and activities should be considered.

Main Street

Findings

1. Parking continues to be an obstacle to Main Street development. 2. Absentee ownership presents unique challenges to Main Street investment. 3. Corn Palace activities are beneficial to Main Street.

Recommendation

1. Main Street and Beyond is deserving of continued city support.

Prehistoric Indian Village amphitheater

Findings

1. If tourism is to continue to play a role in Mitchell’s economic future, we need to recognize that tourists are interested in the Native American culture.

2. The amphitheater proposal presents an opportunity to expand Mitchell’s tourism base and to further promote the Native American history and culture to travelers.

Recommendation

1. The committee for the development of the amphitheater project is deserving of continued consideration and support.

Events coordination

Findings

1. There is a lack of community events coordination. Individual associations take sole responsibility for the solicitation, hosting and staffing of events.

2. The community is not represented as a whole when soliciting state/regional events.

3. If the reward of an event to an association is not commensurate with the effort involved to host the event, there may not be incentive to promote the event.

Recommendations

1. The Chamber of Commerce needs to re-assess its role in events coordination and management, and how it can best assist in resolving the above findings.

2. Consideration should be given to the establishment of an Events Authority.

3. Although the city and Chamber attempt to maintain respective community calendars, greater effort is needed to maintain a more complete calendar of events. Such a calendar might promote increased community participation and volunteer effort.

What is an events authority?

An events authority could be established for the purpose of facilitating, coordinating and assisting with the solicitation, promotion and hosting of various community athletic and cultural events. The Focus 2020 Coordination Assistance Team should consider the feasibility of such an authority and determine the proper structure and accountability for this authority. However, we believe it should have specific funding resources and should require paid staffing positions.

Other matters to be addressed

• The community’s effort to promote visitor development must also consider the impression the city leaves on the visitors. Specifically, how do our entrances, residential and commercial properties appear in the eyes of a new visitor?

• The visitor development committee did not focus on the community’s event center project as the city had an established task force in place. However, we endorse the continued study and evaluation of an events center, and would welcome participation in this effort.

• The committee also endorses the Focus 2020 mission to maintain these committees on an ongoing basis.

Tags: focus 2020, corn palace, mitchell convention and visitors bureau, news, tourism