Woodbury ponders convention and visitors bureau

Woodbury city officials are reaching out to businesses in the next step toward creating a convention and visitors bureau. They’re surveying hoteliers, restaurateurs and other business leaders to determine whether a coordinated effort to market the city is worth the 3 percent hospitality and lodging tax to fund it.

“This is not a decision we take lightly,” said Woodbury Housing and Community Development Director Karal Batalden. “We’re in the process of getting the stakeholders’ thoughts on the idea and figuring out the pros and cons. This is very much in the early days.”

The city has a $16,000 contract with Madison, Wis.-based Zeitgeist Consulting to conduct the survey.  Zeitgeist specializes in assisting in the creation of what are known as “destination marketing organizations.” Woodbury is also spending another $63,000 toward a feasibility study by Minneapolis-based PadillaCRT. The City Council identified a strategic initiative last April to study the possibility of a stepped up marketing plan.

The move is a signal of momentum in the fast-growing suburb in the southeast Metro. Work started on the 30-acre Bielenberg Gardens retail development southwest of the Bailey Road and Radio Drive intersection last September. Hopes remain high that Florida-based Elion Partners will soon submit a plan to redevelop the 400,000-square-foot former State Farm building — now called the Woodbury Corporate Center — at Radio Drive and Interstate 94.

The pending opening of the expanded Bielenberg Sports Arena at 4125 Radio Drive is seen as one of the brightest prospects for additional visitor revenue. The city is finishing up a $15.5 million upgrade for a 90,000-square-foot complex and a new field house. The project includes two outdoor rinks and three dozen other sports fields.

“We have the potential for more soccer tournaments, more hockey tournaments, more baseball and softball tournaments,” said Batalden. “It’s obvious people are going to be coming to Woodbury from all over the metro and all over the region.”

The spring completion of the expansion of the Beilenberg Sports Center at 4125 Radio Drive is expected to increase the potential for more visitors to Woodbury. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz)
The spring completion of the expansion of the Beilenberg Sports Center at 4125 Radio Drive is expected to increase the potential for more visitors to Woodbury. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz)

He said the new sports center might also be able to host conventions, expositions and large business meetings.

The question is whether such an increase in activity warrants the additional marketing push, he said.

The city is so far getting little pushback on the idea. The Woodbury Chamber of Commerce is supporting the study.

“It’s worth the investment to see how feasible it is,” said chamber President Director Barbara Tuccitto Warren. The growth in new companies makes it a good time to check whether the Woodbury is ready for a more formal marketing approach, she said.

“The time might be right,” Tuccitto Warren said. “The city welcomed 50 new businesses last year, which — for a community our size — that’s a significant number.”

Tuccitto Warren was with the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce when that city first formed a visitors bureau. She also said she had a good experience with similar groups when she headed the Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce for eight years.
 The main hurdle will be whether hotel operators will get behind a tax of up to 3 percent per night to fund the idea. Woodbury currently has six hotels with almost 630 total rooms available.

“We have taken a position supporting cities exercising the local option lodging taxes,” said Dan McElroy, the executive vice president for the Minnesota Lodging Association.  In talking with the more than 100 communities that have levied the tax for visitors bureaus, “the anecdotal belief is it’s good for business,” he said.

Woodbury is surveying selected members of the community through Jan. 24.

Reported by:  Finance-commerce.com