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Commission agrees to join negotiations for Kalamazoo County Event Center assessment authority
Summary
The commission voted to participate in negotiations to create a Kalamazoo County Event Center Assessment District Authority that would manage assessment revenue from a hotel assessment passed by hoteliers; Discover Kalamazoo representatives explained revenue and operating projections.
The Kalamazoo City Commission voted July 7 to participate in negotiations to form a Kalamazoo County Event Center Assessment District Authority, a joint city–county body proposed to manage assessment revenue from a hotel assessment that voters in the hotel sector approved.
Jane Ghosh of Discover Kalamazoo told the commission the financing mechanism is built on the Event Center Financing Act and that the assessment revenue began to be collected on June 1. She said the assessment is intended to give hoteliers a governance role because they are the primary payers under the financing structure.
"The primary benefit of the facility needs to go to the hoteliers," Ghosh said, describing the authority as a structure (under Michigan law) that can include hotelier representation on its governing body and manage assessment receipts.
Ghosh also said the assessment revenue for 2025 is expected to be about $1.9 million and will rise over the next two years; the county has expressed willingness to bond for the facility, and initial operating-year deficits could be covered by assessment revenue prior to opening.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the indoor sports and events facility could create new opportunities for youth athletics and tourism; Vice Mayor Hess described the site as a strong location for volleyball, basketball and indoor turf programming and praised the plan’s model of using visitor-generated revenue rather than general-fund money.
The measure approved by the commission authorizes staff to participate in negotiations to create the assessment district authority; formal creation of the authority, bonding and facility construction remain separate decisions requiring future action.
