Three cities may opt out of tourism group

The cities of Blaine, Shoreview and Coon Rapids are reevaluating their ties to an 11-member north-metro convention and visitors' bureau, hoping to shine a brighter light on their own communities.

With support from many of the hotels in their cities, each of the three city councils approved a required one-year opt-out notice at their December council meetings.

Although the cities don't share identical concerns about Visit Minneapolis North (VMN), they do share a concern that the cooperative, which represents cities on both sides of the Mississippi River, does not create a sufficient draw to their amenities.

Coon Rapids wants to strike out on its own to promote its parks, festivals and the Riverdale Village shopping center, as well as market the city for more long-term investment. Blaine and Shoreview want more sports marketing to draw visitors to Blaine's National Sports Center and golf courses, and to Shoreview's hotels.

Dave Looby, executive director of Visit Minneapolis North, agrees that there are challenges for a tourism bureau that serves a broad and diverse region.

"The hard part is we're trying to serve a lot of masters," he said. "We don't know all the answers, so we're trying to work it out."

The 20-year-old organization represents Anoka, Arden Hills, Blaine, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids, Fridley, Ham Lake, Maple Grove, Mounds View and Shoreview. Its $1.7 million budget is funded by a 3 percent tax on hotel tabs in those cities, in addition to Explore Minnesota grants, advertising revenue and other sponsorships.

Arden Hills has given notice that it will leave VMN at the end of this year. One of its two hotels closed, and the other's owner preferred to compete more on value than on tourism, said Mayor Stan Harpstead.

The idea, said Looby, is that no single north-metro city can compete on its own. But when Brooklyn Center offers up Earle Brown Heritage Center's convention facilities, Blaine offers its sports venues, and Maple Grove and Coon Rapids contribute shopping and lodging, along with the other cities' attractions and amenities, the region can hold its own against Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington and other larger metro cities, either as a destination or as a base for travelers with business in the core cities.

Essential components

Blaine economic development specialist Curt Larson, who also is a VMN board member, agreed.

"Blaine could [market itself] with the National Sports Center, but they couldn't without the hotels," he said. "Maple Grove has Arbor Lakes, plus the hotels, but they don't have a convention center. We all kind of need each other for the sports, meeting and leisure tourism travel, and I think we're stronger as one."

City officials agreed that the opt-out was not set in stone; it was a tool to give them an opportunity to look at their options separate from VMN, and also to exercise some leverage to make changes.

"This was the step we felt we needed to take to say, 'Hey, we're serious about this,'" said Kory Lesnick, director of sales and marketing for the Hampton Inn in Shoreview and a member of the VMN board. "With the changes in the economy, we all have to look at our strategies a little differently."

The options might include creating a new visitors' bureau specific to the area east of the Mississippi River, and even extending to eastern cities such as Lino Lakes; using the hotel tax funds in a different way, as allowed by statute, to create separate convention and visitors' bureaus; and working out an agreement for a restructured VMN.

Shoreview and Blaine officials said they hope to find that compromise with the bureau, to preserve the integrity of the Visit Minneapolis North brand.

"I truly believe that this is all going to work out for the best," Lesnick said. "We just need to work better together."

"Coon Rapids generates $225,000 [through the hotel tax], and we need to make sure we're getting the biggest bang for the buck, not in the region, but in Coon Rapids," he said last week. "The motel tax isn't about filling hotels. It is the mechanism by which we generate monies for promoting the community."

Possible changes

A task force representing the cities and the VMN board will begin meeting this month to discuss possible changes at the cooperative. Already, Looby said, plans for this year's hard-copy visitors' guide will include a section for each city to stand on its own.

The cities said they hope to make a decision whether to remain in VMN early this year.

Looby characterized the process as painful, but important.