NOVEMBER 28, 2017 MONROE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION UPDATE Monroe Convention Center & Visit Bloomington
Monroe Convention Center 1991-2017 Celebrating 26 years of positive impact on commerce and culture in Monroe County! Hosted 12,000 events, over 1.5 million attendees, and $256 million in economic impact.
Convention Center Management Local Board of Directors Subsidiary of Downtown Bloomington, Inc. Monroe Convention Center Management Contract Monroe County Convention & Visitors Commission Contract Monroe County Budget Process and Approval Annual independent audit
Convention Center Mission Mission is to be a high quality, customer-focused facility that serves as a community gathering place, tourist destination and a catalyst for positive economic and cultural activity in Monroe County.
Current Situation STRENGTHS Popular unique group destination, professional experience, accumulated land, located in vibrant, walkable downtown WEAKNESSES Lack of meeting space and consistent adjacent host hotel rooms OPPORTUNITIES Sustainable funding source in Food & Beverage Tax, potential host hotel partner, group demand exists THREATS Competition, inadequate funding
Products, Services, and Operations
Sales & Current Events 519 TOTAL EVENTS Association: 34% Medical: 8% Corporate: 22% Government: 3% Religious: 12% Fraternal: 1% Education: 11% Military: 1% Social: 9%
Goals for New Expanded Space New business Create jobs & economic impact Create new attraction in heart of Monroe County Capture important Sunday through Thursday overnight business Host multiple group events simultaneously
Visit Bloomington
THREE-YEAR STRATEGIC DESTINATION PLAN SCHEMATIC: 2017 2019 VISIT BLOOMINGTON PURPOSE AND DIRECTION OUR MISSION FOCUS Mission Visit Bloomington s mission is to promote Monroe County to potential travelers resulting in increased visitation and positive economic impact for the area. Drive New and/or Current Visitor Demand Strengthen the Visitor Experience OUR STRATEGIC GOALS Communicate Relevancy and Viability Values OUR CULTURE Enhance Brand Awareness Increase Sales Conversion Support Product Development Engage Community Audiences Ensure Financial and Administrative Effectiveness Strategic Innovative Partner-based Proficient Accountable Team-oriented Visitor Promise We commit to providing engaging on-demand information and advice on Bloomington area s brand experiences. Partner Promise We commit to collaborating with the tourism industry and community and facilitating opportunities in business and product development, education and advocacy. OUR DESTINATION OPPORTUNITY CHALLENGES 1. Growing weekday overnight tourism business to the Bloomington area based on priority target markets and innovative programming 2. Defining Visit Bloomington tourism product development role with attendant key project focus 3. Being an impactful tourism advocate through meaningful industry and community communications BRAND EXPERIENCE Continued marketing research with focus on our six targeted visitor audience segments (2017-2019) Increased targeted IU Alumni (Cream & Crimson/ Lifelong Learner sets) program development (2018-2019) Enhanced regional marketing collaboration assessment (2017) Medical tourism (Pragmatic Planner set) potential evaluation and program development (2017-2019) Enhanced visiting friends and relative program (2017) Increased small affordable meetings (SMERF) sales penetration (2017-2019) Further sports event sales investment to capitalize on new opportunities (2017-2019) Increased partner and cooperative sales programming potential examination (2017-2019) Expanded group familiarization hosting (2017-2019) OUR PRIORITY INITIATIVES Trip ideas/itinerary programming lining up with six targeted visitor audience segments (2017) Consistent brand service excellence training and other professional development programming quarterly (2017-2019) Sports event facility assessment and updated strategy (2017-2018) Citywide visitor shuttle system investigation (2019) Continued Monroe Convention Center expansion communications strategy support (2017-2019) Tourism advocacy and community relations plan development and implementation (2017-2019) Advocacy and tourism development intelligence to support new directions (2018-2019) Stronger business relationships with county organizations and communities on tourism-related matters (2017-2019) Approved rolling year strategic plan aligned to annual destination marketing/business plan and budget in 4th quarter (2017-2019) Visitors center relocation evaluation (2017-2018) Bloomington and Monroe County deliver quality experiences to visitors through unique combinations of cultural, sports, and natural offerings. From academic opportunities at Indiana University, arts in hip downtown Bloomington or the gorgeous, natural resources of the Hoosier National Forest, they are all set in a community and area with a progressive and accepting focus. AUDIENCE SEGMENTS: BIG EVENT, TASTEMAKER, HEALTH NUT, CREAM & CRIMSON, LIFELONG LEARNER, PRAGMATIC PLANNER OUR DESTINATION/CVB OUTCOMES Enhanced community brand awareness More integrated marketing with visitor industry stakeholders Increased meeting and leisure visitors and spending Increased community stakeholder and resident engagement Higher attraction and event recognition Credible entity with increased partners and effective programs
Visit Bloomington Budget 3% of the 5% Monroe County Innkeeper s Tax $1.6 million budget in 2017 $1.3 million Spent on marketing in 2017 Sales Expenses = $350,000 Promotional Expenses = $400,000 Advertising Expenses = $550,000
Geographic Target Market Range
Over 1.2 million views in 2017 9 million social impressions in 2017
LEISURE MEETINGS SPORTS WILL TRAVEL FOR HOME RUNS. WHEN YOU RE READY TO ESCAPE THE MIDWEST WITHOUT LEAVING THE MIDWEST, VISIT BLOOMINGTON. Natural beauty, world-class museums, rich cultural offerings, craft breweries, and an eclectic array of international restaurants make this hamlet in Indiana a welcome departure from the ordinary. Whether you come for a weekend getaway or a mid-week respite, you ll leave Bloomington refreshed and energized. NOBODY GOES TO CONFERENCES FOR THE CONFERENCE ROOM. Of course we have meeting spaces, plus caterers, hotels, and everything else on your checklist. But more importantly, we ve got craft breweries, distilleries, wineries, indie music venues, and local restaurants all a short walk or bike ride from our conference facilities. So don t just get out of the office. Get away to get ahead. VISITBLOOMINGTON.COM VISITBLOOMINGTON.COM VISITBLOOMINGTON.COM
Visit Bloomington Meetings Sales Efforts Partnerships with venues and attractions Personal sales efforts and relationship building Lead generator Over 1,000 active accounts
Growth Opportunities Indiana Associations Midwest Associations Ohio Valley Associations Great Lakes Associations Big Ten Associations Club and hobby related conferences Non-traditional sporting events (weightlifting, billiards, etc.) SMERF (Social, Military, Education, Religious, Fraternal) Healthcare I-69 Corporate Trade shows, exhibitions and public shows
New Visitors Center Future Growth Opportunities New leisure attraction in heart of Monroe County More cohesive sales and partnership opportunities Specialized tours Retail Art, history, limestone, sports, culinary programming Increased event support
Future Tourism Projects Countywide trail development Karst Farm Park improvements Monroe County Fairgrounds improvements Limestone Park Sports facilities Family attractions Signature event development Entryway beautification
Expansion Planning Priorities 2018 year of planning and input Optimize systems and equipment Manage event disruption Optimal staffing levels Increase training and sales efforts Upgraded maintenance schedule Sustainable funding Reporting
Stabilized Year 4 - Estimated Annual Revenues & Uses in Expanded Center Annual Revenue Sources Food and Beverage Tax $2,600,000 (1) Operations Revenue $3,100,000 (3) Innkeepers Tax $1,000,000 (5) Total Annual Funding $6,300,000 Annual Uses Annual Debt Service $2,600,000 (2) Operations $3,200,000 (4) Operations $400,000 (6) Capital Expenditures $100,000 (7) Total Annual Uses $6,300,000 (1) FSG estimates F&B Collection to be approximately $2.5- $3.0 million in 2017. Must have significant debt coverage (2) Annual debt service is estimated at $40 million at 4.25% over 25 years; $40 million is based on projected construction cost of $35 million plus $5 million to retire existing debt (including prepayment). Not included is FFE, Soft Costs and Renovation of Current Building (3) Projected Room Rental, Catering, AV Other revenue from Operations (4)Operations expense will exceed operations revenue due to the size of the space to maintain. (5) Convention Center receives 40% of the current Innkeepers tax, the remainder of the tax is utilized by Visit Bloomington; Amount shown above is the 2016 convention center related collection amount (6) Utilities, Equipment and Maintenance top expenses (7) Currently InnKeepers tax is used to cover needed Capital Expenditures for the Center in an amount that varies between $50,000 annually; with the expanded space this amount is estimated to increase