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Council approves $120,000 CTV grant and street closures for Wild West Brewfest after Rotary presentation
Summary
Council approved a $120,000 hotel-occupancy tax grant to promote the Wild West Brewfest, voted to close specified streets for the March 28–29, 2026 event, and heard a Rotary Club presentation outlining the event’s charitable givebacks and hotel impacts.
The Katy City Council voted to approve a Convention & Tourism Bureau hotel-occupancy tax grant package to support the Wild West Brewfest and approved related street-closure requests after a presentation from Rotary Club representatives.
David Loesch, representing the Rotary Club of Katy, described the Brewfest’s volunteer-driven operations and charitable returns to organizations including Katy ISD programs and other local nonprofits. Loesch said Rotary typically purchases sponsor room blocks and that the event brings measurable hotel occupancy, with some hotels reporting Saturday occupancy around 90 percent on Brewfest weekends.
Council considered a CTV grant request totaling $120,000 (spread over the grant’s stated term) to fund tourism advertising and promotion; councilmembers pressed for and received assurances about accountability measures. Several members asked staff and organizers to track ‘‘heads and beds’’ more precisely — proposing QR-code surveys, onsite polling and use of analytical tools (Placer AI) — so the city can better quantify how many hotel rooms and visitor dollars the event generates.
The council also approved a street-closure request to close portions of Katy Mills Drive for the Brewfest at Typhoon Texas (planned 6 a.m. March 28–noon March 29, 2026); the Katy Police Department has approved the closure. Council discussed vendor sourcing and urged organizers to prioritize local food vendors when possible; Rotary representatives said sponsorship and vendor logistics constrain that effort but committed to solicit local vendors first.
Councilmembers said the Brewfest supports the city’s tourism mission by driving hotel stays and revenue to local businesses, while asking organizers to return with post-event metrics that break down revenue sources (sponsorships, vendors, ticket sales) and how many rooms are comped for sponsors versus sold to attendees.
Council also voted to approve the packet item authorizing the mayor to execute the related agreements and confirmed funding sources as the CTV fund balance and convention and tourism revenues.
