This post is opinion and commentary.
The Williamsburg City Council approved a new $31 million downtown library last week and construction is expected to begin next April. The city expects to borrow over $32 million, as well as kick in a $5 million “down payment” consisting of COVID-relief funds previously stashed away for a new live performance venue (LPV).
Losing $5 million in seed money to the library may not seem like a positive indicator for the future of the $83 million LPV, but not so fast. At the same meeting, the City Council approved on a split vote (pinch me) to grant $6,000 to the Williamsburg Hotel and Motel Association in order to update a previous feasibility study conducted about the live performance venue. Voting in favor of the grant were Mayor Douglas Pons and Council Members Barbara Ramsey and Stacy Kern-Scheerer, while Vice Mayor Pat Dent and Council Member Ayanna Williams voted against.
The underlying issue is not the amount of the grant, but that the city continues to fund the evaluation of the LPV through outside groups with vested interests. For example, the city gave the funding for at least one feasibility study to a group of self-described “advocates” of the venue. Now, additional funding has gone to an industry association that also clearly has a stake in the outcome.
There’s been ample opportunity for input from those who will build, run and perform at the venue. Mayor Pons described the effort as “years of work that has been happening behind the scenes to hopefully make this project come to fruition.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
You’ll hear the familiar tune that tourists are ultimately paying for all this, which is not entirely the case. Footing the bill for the new sports venue and other tourism promotion required a special sales tax levied across Williamsburg, James City and York that everyone pays, tourist or not. That’s not going anywhere. The area has also seen higher taxes implemented on dining and event admissions, which locals pay too.
The additional grant money to update the study will come from a set aside called the Tourism Promotion Contingency Fund (TPCF), which the city describes as a source of “one-time funding for projects and activities that increase overnight visitation in the City.” The fund’s total budget for the fiscal year is $150,000.
For now, the beat goes on for the performance venue though no funding has been identified, even years after it was proposed and designed. The project represents another massive investment in tourism and entertainment by the region. Decisions must be based on more than an analysis paid for and facilitated by interests which already have a desired result in mind.
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Rule #1 Don't use taxpayers money to be in the live event venue business. Your the local government...tend to public safety, education, clean water &good roadways.
Rule #2 If you have land to make available on reasonable terms for performance venue(s), don't ask some consultant if it is a good idea. They will tell you "yes". They know very little about operating the actual business, but have opinions on everything.
Rule # 3 Want to know if it's a good idea? Invite Live Nation Entertainment, AEG or the Oak View Group if a venue(s) could work here. Ask them