Northwest Indiana Discussion

Why? The SSCVA is working on behalf of five counties? Am i missing something? For instance, i thought LaPorte County refused to join Batistatos's merry band. So, what is the actual official scope of the SSCVA informing the account in the Times reports:

Batistatos revs up engines for air show, convention center

15 hours ago • By Keith Benman keith.benman@nwi.com, (219) 933-3326
Tourism by the numbers

Here are some numbers from South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Speros Batistatos' presentation Friday before the Lake County Advancement Committee:

6,000: Number of hotel rooms in five counties SSCVA strives to fill each day
$50 million: State of Michigan tourism budget
$1 million: State of Indiana tourism budget
1,400: South Shore Brewery Pubs website hits in one week

*****

SCHERERVILLE | South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Speros Batistatos offered a strong defense of moving the South Shore Air Show to Fair Oaks Farms before the Lake County Advancement Committee on Friday.

"We will either be geniuses or idiots. But I'm betting on the first one," Batistatos said to more than 60 people at the committee's monthly meeting at Teibel's Restaurant.

The ability to levy a charge on virtually everyone who attends via a parking fee at Fair Oaks Farms may help stem the $200,000 annual loss on the show, while still benefiting Northwest Indiana's tourism industry, Batistatos said.

Hosting the show at Fair Oaks Farms also holds the potential of attracting major corporate sponsorships, since many of the nation's largest food, agricultural and equipment manufacturers do business with Fair Oaks Farms, he said.

The decision to move the air show from Gary's lakefront to agritourism center in Newton County has been a controversial one, with a number of Lake County politicians hammering Batistatos for the move. Most aircraft in the show will remain based at Gary/Chicago International Airport.

Batistatos used most of his allotted time as keynote speaker Friday to answer questions from the audience, with the air show responses sparked by a question from former Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez.

The South Shore tourism chief used the air show as just one example of how "ZIP code wars" between communities clamoring for their piece of the pie have held back progress in the region. He said the same kind of infighting killed a drive in the early 1990s to site a sports arena in Northwest Indiana hosting top tier minor league sports franchises.

This will be the year the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority launches in earnest a drive for a convention center here, Batistatos said. The drive will start with the authority's board of directors authorizing an economic impact study and analysis of the financials for the project, Batistatos said.

The tourism authority has long advocated using a food and beverage tax to fund a convention center that could include an arena. The idea up until now has met with a cold shoulder from the Lake County Council and Commission.

Kathy DeGuilio-Fox, Director of the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana, asked Batistatos what he thought of the state's new tourism slogan of "Honest-to-Goodness Indiana," which was unveiled this week by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development.

"Ugh," was Batistatos first response. He then noted what a great job Office of Tourism Development Director Mark Newman does with a measly budget of $1 million. Batistatos admitted he was fond of the previous slogan of "Restart Your Engines."

He said the new slogan appears to be an attempt to capitalize on Indiana residents' reputation for friendliness and genuineness, while reinforcing the state's emphasis on family values.

Not one person has asked the cows and pigs on the farm, what they think of this planned air show. I think this show will produce a lot of BS.

I read were Tom McDermott is waging his war with Speros over Facebook. Speros floated the idea of a food and beverage tax to pay for a "convention center". Tom says he will use all his power, as mayor and county chairman to ensure no food and beverage tax is passed in the foreseeable future.

Sorry Tommy, but if there is any certainty in the world, it is that Lake Couty passing new and higher taxes, is foreseeable!

Tom goes on to say that "we are taxed enough already, to add another tax at this point is a horrible idea."
At this point...
He had me up until "at this point".

Ah yes. Devil's in the details. Always read the fine print.

I thought so. Speros has been working off the books during Lake County time. Jasper County is just now attempting to sign-on for a mere $2500.00 month. Thirty grand a year. Is Lake County now subsidizing Jasper County too?

Jasper County, South Shore tourism group forge partnership
By Carrie Napoleon Post-Tribune correspondent February 20, 2014 11:50PM

HAMMOND — A partnership for tourism services between the Jasper County Tourism Commission and the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority is one step closer to reality.

The SSCVA board of directors Thursday unanimously approved the contract that would allow the bureau to help launch the county’s fledgling tourism efforts for a fee. The Jasper County Economic Development Organization is slated to vote on the deal March 7. If approved, it will go into effect April 1.

Vic DeMeyer, chairman of the board, said the partnership is an example of the concept of regionalism Speros Batistatos, SSCVA president and CEO, has long promoted.

“This is the way of the future. This is what we will continue to do,” DeMeyer said.

Batistatos said he first discussed the possibility of a partnership with Kevin Kelly, president of Jasper County Economic Development Organization, several years ago when they first met at a forum. At the time, the county did not have an innkeepers’ tax and the organization was just beginning to look at tourism as a means for economic development.

Since that time, Kelly said the county enacted a 5 percent innkeeper tax in July 2012 and began collecting that tax in January 2013. He said Batistatos was on the phone with him the day after the tax passed to see how the two entities could team up.

“It makes a lot of sense to outsource to a much bigger neighboring organization,” Kelly said.

The county has 230 hotel rooms and the tax on those rooms generated $142,566 in 2013. Jasper County will pay the SSCVA $2,500 a month for services that will include helping to develop a brand for the county and helping to create the county’s website, which will be a page on the greater SSCVA website.

Kelly said the county will also receive media and public relations assistance from the tourism agency.

“They’re going to teach us how to market the Jasper brand and attract more visitors,” he said.

The county has four main festivals, one in each of its larger cities and towns, the Jasper County Fair and several agri-tourism-based businesses. Kelly said the goal is to have the SSCVA help market the county and then the county will use the remaining tourism dollars it collects to implement the recommendations made by the SSCVA to help grow the various events and get more people to spend the night in a Jasper County hotel.

Kelly said the county could have hired its own tourism employee, but it would have been an entry-level position filled by someone who would have to learn as they go. He said there still will be a learning curve for county officials but at least they will have the SSCVA’s experience and expertise to guide them.

I have always questioned the actions of Batistatos. First he ran the travel center on Kennedy, he quit and moved to Atlantic City to run their visitors bureau. He flunked out there and moved back to Lake County a short time later. Sure enough he found a way to get the guy out at the travel Center here in Hammond. Then he was appointed to his old job. If I had the job of hiring him again, I would have seen his actions were not fit for Atlantic City and denied his rehiring. But this is Lake County. He then tried to get other counties to the east to join up with the Lake County bureau. They gave him his hat and told him no dice. Now he has talked these farmers from those south counties to join him up here in Lake County. He teased them with that air show and they took the bait.Old Batistatos first got his move into richer climates when he lead a group of people that were floded some time ago in Highland. Many residents still wonder how much of a settlement figure he got compared to their's.