NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Newport News City Council will consider creating a non-profit corporation to help manage and plan for large scale events during their meeting on Tuesday morning.
The decision comes after the city is a major push to become a tourist destination by investing $3 million in surplus funds for a Memorial Day weekend music festival.
The city has partnered with Global Music Touring, the same promoter behind Norfolk’s Cousinz Festival, to create what organizers are calling more than just a music event.
“We’re really working on something larger and more broadscale where we can have a more impactful effect outside of just music,” said Antonio Dowe, CEO of Global Music Touring.
The festival is expected to take place at multiple sites in downtown Newport News, though specific details like the lineup have not been released yet.
“It’s more than a festival it’s going to be an experience,” Dowe said.
To manage large-scale events like this, city leaders plan to create a new non-profit corporation called NNVibes.
City officials say events of this magnitude are beyond their current capacity to staff and manage.
“It’s the next step in our evolution to attract more tourism dollars a lot of other cities have this,” Mayor Phillip Jones said.
The model follows Norfolk’s approach with FestEvents, a similar non-profit that organizes events including the annual Harborfest. City staffers say NNVibes will take the lead in finding event sponsors and grants, reducing reliance on city funding.
When Mayor Phillip Jones announced the festival on his Facebook page last month, some commenters questioned the city’s spending.
Newport News committed more money to this festival than Virginia Beach provided to the organizers of Something in the Water.
However, Jones remains confident about the return on investment.
“People are going to be coming here spending money getting hotels. It’s more than just a one or a two day festival. This is going to be an experience this is how we’re going to attract tourism dollars this fiscal year, but then going forward as well,” Jones said.
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