Whether the city of Bend needs and could sustain a large public assembly venue that could hold up to 2,000 people is at the heart ofa new study presented Monday, March 2 to the Bend Economic Development Advisory Board. Visit Bend hired CSL Consulting for the study, indicating that it fits its overall mission to support the community in seeking a sustainable future. Currently, about 68% of the lodging tax collected in the city goes into the City of Bend’s general reserve. Visit Bend receives the rest to use for marketing the area to tourists.
John Kaatz of CSL and his team looked at 20 cities in the U.S. with a similar population as Bend and found that only Bend and San Luis Obispo, California, did not have any dedicated, municipally owned event facility. Most cities had some version of a convention, performing arts, club hall or multipurpose center with a capacity to hold more than 1,000 people.
CSL consulted more than 50 local stakeholders, (including Aaron Switzer, publisher of the Source and owner of a local events company). He found that there’s great interest in having a space to hold large indoor events that are impacted by wildfire smoke or extreme weather. Kaatz presented a list of 120 examples of what a large venue could be used for, including graduations, concerts, youth sports, conventions, cultural events, robotics and hobbyist events. The agency also interviewed managers of other venues in the Pacific Northwest to understand the desirability and characteristics needed for a combined event space.
Kaatz said, based on feedback, creating a new venue would need to fit within existing planning, such as the urban renewal district plan, ongoing efforts to create a Central Oregon Center for the Arts, fairgrounds expansion plans and discussions by the Bend Park and Recreation District about an indoor ice facility or athletic center. The study indicated that the goal of creating a new multi-purpose venue should be to meet the needs of a growing community, create new demand and generate revenue, without competing with existing music and convention venues.
The Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond has 86,500 square feet of exhibit space and 6,200 square feet of meeting space. Sunriver Resort has 18,000 square feet of exhibit space, including 6,900 in meeting space and 14,300 in ballroom space. The Riverhouse Lodge has 13,700 square feet of exhibit space, 4,000 square feet of meeting space and 16,600 square feet of ballroom space.
Kaatz said general requirements to consider for a building a large venue would include flat floor space, retractable seating capabilities, breakout meeting spaces, smaller multi-use space, fixed stage capabilities, dressing or locker rooms, unique locally inspired design elements, parking and a large hotel with approximately 225 rooms that’s next to or within close walking distance to the venue.
Challenges to sustaining a venue of this size, Kaatz said, include difficulty driving to Bend during the winter, a limited population base to draw from east of Bend, strong competition from other regional venues in larger cities and a desire to minimize impact on other local venues.
Kaatz said, “We’re in the early, early stages for what could be something very vibrant and exciting for Bend down the road.”
Many more questions need to be answered such as location, cost, who would operate it and whether it could be a private/public partnership. Visit Bend says it may be possible to use funds from the transient room tax. There would also need to be public engagement.
The study presented Monday is incomplete. CSL will present a more comprehensive report, which is expected to include financial aspects, to the Bend City Council on April 22.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
