<\/p>\n
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“It’s more than a festival it’s going to be an experience,” Dowe said.<\/p>\n
To manage large-scale events like this, city leaders plan to create a new non-profit corporation called NNVibes. <\/p>\n
City officials say events of this magnitude are beyond their current capacity to staff and manage. <\/p>\n
“It’s the next step in our evolution to attract more tourism dollars a lot of other cities have this,” Mayor Phillip Jones said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
When Mayor Phillip Jones announced the festival on his Facebook page last month, some commenters questioned the city’s spending. <\/p>\n
Newport News committed more money to this festival than Virginia Beach provided to the organizers of Something in the Water.<\/p>\n
However, Jones remains confident about the return on investment.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n