CINCINNATI — Events and games at Paycor Stadium and TQL Stadium bring in thousands of attendees — which means tons of business throughout the city.
Flashing back to 2023, Taylor Swift's concert at Paycor Stadium created unforgettable memories for thousands of fans and millions in revenue. What if more events like that, including performers, conferences and even events like the NFL Draft, took place in Cincinnati?
On Wednesday, Cincinnati City Council passed a budget motion for a new sports events commission aimed at doing just that.
"This is a very pivotal time for Cincinnati in terms of growth, said Julie Calvert, president of Visit Cincy.
Calvert said Visit Cincy and city council are working to bring big things to the Cincinnati area, but to do so, Calvert said a focused group was needed.
"We need to establish a new sports commission that is connected to the business community connected to the civic community, to the sports, the university community," Calvert said.
The new commission is not leaving any sport or event out of the running. Calvert said organizers are wanting all eyes to be on Cincinnati.
“It’s going to bring new visitors. It’s going bring new dollars in the community,” she said. “But importantly the eyes of the nation on Cincinnati.”
Visit Cincy is contributing $500,000 for three years to the commission. Alongside that, city council approved a motion to allocate $250,000.
“This is a $250,000 investment out of the city from a $1.6 billion dollar budget,” Council Member Seth Walsh said.
We asked Walsh how council knows the commission will produce actual results? He said our city is no stranger to it.
"Taylor Swift alone brought in $1 million of new revenue into the city's budget," Walsh said.
Now, Walsh said, it’s time to reach out for more opportunities.
“Once these events start landing here, it’s going to be an immediate huge impact on our region. It's a great opportunity to showcase Cincinnati,” he said.
Calvert said the commission will be staffed with a board of directors, sales team and more, however, with it being so early in the planning process they haven’t hired a team yet.
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