Local groups vie for Lexington County accommodations tax funding

Posted 2/8/23

17 Lexington County agencies are set to receive key funding.

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Local groups vie for Lexington County accommodations tax funding

Posted

17 Lexington County agencies are set to receive key funding.

At its Feb. 1 meeting, the county’s Accommodations Tax Advisory Board listened to presentations from the agencies looking to receive money for the coming fiscal year from coffers filled by a 3% tax levied on hotels and other temporary rentals.

Their subsequent recommendations will be taken up by County Council for approval.

Lexington County Blowfish

The summer collegiate wood bat baseball team that competes at Lexington County Baseball Stadium requested $5,000, with the board recommending the team receive the full amount. 

According to the county, the Blowfish didn’t receive accommodations tax funds last year.

“Our goal is to promote ourselves as Lexington County's home team and do everything we can to help not just promote the name Lexington County,” co-owner Bill Shanahan said, “but the towns and the cities and the residents and the people who live here as we continue to grow.”

Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce

The chamber requested $12,000 and was recommended to receive $15,000. The organization received $6,500 last year.

Kerry Powers, president and CEO of the Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce, said Irmo has had a great couple of years and that the money they requested will help them continue what they are doing.

“We have a great cost of living and have beautiful weather here,” she said. “We have excellent schools and really robust hospitality options that we can offer tourists, visitors, and anybody who might want to consider coming to visit or stick around and stay here.”

Riverbanks Zoo and Garden

The zoo and garden, which straddles the Lexington County line along the Saluda River, requested $30,000 and was recommended to receive $25,000. The zoo received $10,000 last year.

Lochlan Wooten, Riverbanks’ chief operating officer, emphasized the attraction’s new aquarium and reptile conservation center, set to open in March, will enhance the guest experience.

This aquarium renovation took 18 months of construction and is part of the zoo’s ongoing Bridge to the Wild master plan for improvements.

The zoo’s ability to conduct animal care and conservation directly impacts its ability to attract visitors, which is how it makes an economic impact on the region, Wooten said.

Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College

The theater requested $15,000 and was recommended to receive the full amount. The theater received $2,500 last year.

Kristen Cobb, the venue’s executive director, said it has been very successful in selling out its shows, and the requested money will help them continue their success.

Cobb spoke about the reach the theater has, saying that their brochure is sent out to 60,000 households with another 10,000 being distributed across the Midlands.

“We want to be a great cultural hub for Lexington and surrounding areas,” Cobb said.

Batesburg-Leesville Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center

The chamber requested $10,000 and was recommended to receive $15,000. The chamber received $6,500 last year.

Mike Taylor, the chamber’s president, highlighted the group’s plan to host its Taste of the Town in March, along with other events it holds to boost the community.

Lexington County Recreation and Aging Commission

The commission requested $27,000 for softball and $20,000 for tennis and pickleball. The organization received $18,000 for softball last year.

Carrie Lyons, director of the Pine Grove Sports Complex, spoke about the softball tournaments the group is set to hold this year. According to Lyons, more than 100 tournaments will be held in the county this year, one being the NSA Slowpitch Super World Series, a first for the county that will include 80-90 different teams.

Brian Clary, director of tennis and pickleball operations, spoke about the organization’s tennis and pickleball tournament, saying their focus for the past year was on keeping the big tournaments already on the schedule. Two major tournaments being hosted are the Big East Conference Championship, which will have 11 women's teams and eight men’s teams with about 200 players total, and the Tennis Federation South Carolina Junior Championship, which has 128 players with teams from South America, Australia, Europe and Asia.

Run Hard Marathon

The maraton requested $4,000 and received the full amount.. Run Hard didn’t receive accommodations tax funds last year.

Jesse Harmon, race director for the half marathon, 10K and 5K held in the county each fall, said the race was started in 2015 and has reached its fourth year of hosting it at the Blowfish baseball stadium.

The event attracted about 700 participants in 2022, and he said the money raised goes towards the marathon’s nonprofit after-school program.

Columbia Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau

The organization requested $40,000 and was recommended to receive the full amount. The bureau received $15,000 last year.

Kelly Barbrey, the group’s vice president of marketing and communications, talked about how the bureau is working hard to bring visitors to the community and to stay in the hotels and eat at local restaurants, reporting that the average length of stay for somebody visiting the area is 3.7 days.

She also reported that the bureau has increased its hospitality partners by 27, including new hotels, restaurants, breweries and more.

Chapin Community Theatre

The theater requested $92,000 and was recommended to receive $5,000. The theater received $6,500 last year.

The theater’s board president, James DeFelice, said it has been around since 1979, jumping from home to home before purchasing six acres of land in 2022. He explained that the money being requested will help in the company’s ongoing effort to transform three buildings on the property into necessary facilities for the theater to operate, including an area for costumes and stage supplies.

The first show in the new theater on the property is set for March 10. 

Greater Columba Educational Advancement Foundation

The foundation requested $16,000 and was recommended to receive the full amount.

The group’s executive director, Gary Fulmer spoke about the group’s latest Chick-fil-A Classic basketball tournament that happened this past December, which was the 20th annual tournament and the second one in the county.

Fulmer said more than 600 people from out of town or state came for the tournament and that host hotels brought in about $47,000 in revenue, while the event brought about $72,000 to local restaurants.

Town of Lexington (Icehouse Amphitheater)

The town requested $30,000 to go towards operating its downtown amphitheater and was recommended to receive $21,368. The amphitheater did not receive accommodations tax funds last year.

Assistant Town Administrator Wesley Crosby said the amphitheater wants to improve its sound system so that an outside vendor does not need to be hired when an event is hosted.

Lexington Chamber and Visitor Center

The chamber requested $15,629 and was recommended to receive $15,000. The chamber received $6,500 last year.

Angelle LaBoard, president and CEO, spoke about the chamber’s efforts to address town tourism in her presentation.

EdVenture Children's Museum

The museum – which resides in Richland County, just across the Congaree River from West Columbia – requested $10,000 and was recommended to receive $7,500. The museum received $2,000 last year.

Mark Andrews, the museum’s director of education and experiences, said that the money requested by the museum will be going toward helping offset the cost associated with marketing efforts designed to bring visitors to the museum from up to 50 miles away.

Experience Columbia SC Sports

The group requested $25,000 and was recommended to receive the full amount. It received $10,000 last year.

Scott Powers, the group’s executive director, is one of two staff members that looks to boost sports tourism for Experience Columbia.

Powers spoke about the effects of sports tourism and how Lexington County is well equipped for the next several years to generate income from it. He mentioned major sports events that the group has secured for the county, including bass fishing, Quidditch, and the Ultimate World Drive Competition.

The Greater Chapin Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center

The chamber requested $15,000 dollars and recommended to receive the full amount. The chamber received $6,500 last year.

Paul Sadler, the chamber’s president and CEO, mentioned the requested money will help revamp the organization’s visitor's guide, which goes out across the county as well as across South Carolina. Any additional money will be used for advertising purposes, he said.

Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission (Sports Tourism)

The commission requested $30,000 and was recommended to receive the full amount. It received $10,000 last year.

Ashley Smith, a member of the commission, spoke about events happening in the county, one of these being the Quidditch tournament mentioned above.

She said there were a total of 790 teams that played softball or baseball at events hosted by the commission in 2022, generating a $3.2 million economic impact.

Lexington County Museum

The museum requested $12,000 and was recommended to receive the full amount. The museum received $2,000 last year.

J.R. Fennell, the museum’s director, talked about how the museum has seen an increase in visitors since the county started coming out of the pandemic. In 2022, Fennell said that the museum saw the largest number of paying visitors in the past 20 years.

Greater Cayce West Columbia Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center

The chamber requested $15,000 dollars and was recommended to receive the full amount. The chamber received $6,500 last year.

Christina West, the chamber’s events and membership relations coordinator, spoke about a rebranding of the visitors program and other goals for the coming year.

She said the organization is trying to get those who are visiting to stay for the whole weekend and go to places in the county including the Cayce/West Columbia Riverwalk, the Cayce Historical Museum and the variety of bars and restaurants the two cities offer.

Capital City/Lake Murray County Regional Tourism Board

The board requested $135,000 dollars and was recommended to receive $116,708. It received $54,150 last year.

Miriam Atria, the board’s president and CEO, said the tourism-boosting organization saw a $21 million dollar economic impact in 2022. She highlighted the World Bass Championship on Lake Murray, which brought in representatives 25 foreign countries to the county and filled up three hotels, as one of the group’s successes.




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