Toyota Center: A gathering place for our region
The Three Rivers Campus has become a premier destination for conferences, conventions and events throughout the Pacific Northwest due to the quality of our facilities, staff and our community. The Tri-Cities have become a destination, and it is becoming easier to attract events due in large part to the natural and commercial offerings of our region. As our community and the interest in our market grows, so must our facilities. Both the Toyota Center and the Three Rivers Convention Center have become busier than ever, and we are challenged to meet all of the needs of all of our clients. We must meet the needs of a wide range of events, from agricultural clients to the Americans hockey club to national touring artists. With all of the successful concerts last season at the Toyota Center, the Tri-Cities has garnered the attention of the touring community, and we anticipate many more great shows in 2017.
As the Kennewick Public Facilities District looks to the future, they are tasked with charting a course for the entire campus that will allow us to not only maintain the level of events and economic impact to our community, but also ensure long-term success by managing a sustainable growth plan. We are in the process of evaluating the needs of our clients and those of the community today and into the future.
The Three Rivers Campus is responsible for generating an annual economic impact to the Tri-Cities region in excess of $23 million currently as we attract more than 530,000 people each year. As we plan for the future expansion of the campus, we will be increasing this impact to more than $66 million annually. For every tax dollar generated from visitor spending in the Tri-Cities, the citizens reap the benefit by way of better streets, parks, police and fire services and by helping to attract and sustain better restaurants and shops. Because this project is supported by a sales tax, everyone we attract to our venues also pays for the expansion, and we reap the benefits every day.
The Three Rivers Campus not only brings millions of new dollars to the Tri-Cities region annually, hundreds of our citizens are employed as concession workers, bartenders, ushers, ticket takers, custodians and operations, culinary and wait staff. Annually we employee between 300 and 500 people for all departments at the Three Rivers Campus. The Three Rivers operations also support numerous jobs at area hotels, restaurants and retail establishments.
The “Link” project has been designed to correct several issues we have on campus. The “Link” will add much needed parking and correct our accessibility issues with new concession stands, additional ADA seating and a lobby for gathering and flexibility for additional fan-friendly amenities. The “Link” also includes a 45,000 square-foot exhibit hall that contains a 2,300 seat Broadway-style theater. The “Link” will change the face of the Tri-Cities Entertainment District as we will have a theater, hotel, arena and convention center under one roof.
The Tri-Cities continues to grow and remains a great place to live, work, play and learn. The Three Rivers Campus is an asset for the entire region, as we are a gathering place for our neighbors and for visitors from far and wide. Whether you are enjoying an Americans hockey game with friends and family or we are hosting 2,000 people for a weeklong convention, the people of the Tri-Cities benefit from our services. While the “Link” is funded by those who shop, eat and stay in our community, our families are able to reap the benefits year-round.
This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Toyota Center: A gathering place for our region."