THE ROANOKE REGION OF VIRGINIA

For more than 40 years the Salem Civic Center has been Southwest Virginia’s Sports and Entertainment Mecca, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that in 2009, the Taliaferro Complex continued to be a hot ticket for stimulating the local economy.

Nearly one million people attended events at the Salem Civic Center, Salem Stadium and Salem Memorial Ballpark-Lewis Gale Field in 2009 and those patrons helped the complex generate an economic impact to the Greater Roanoke Valley of more than $59 million.

“In spite of the slow economy nationwide, the Salem Civic Center has been able to host more events than facilities that are comparable to our size in the southeast,” says Carey Harveycutter, Salem’s Director of Civic Facilities. “We actually had several events exceed expectations, so I’m pleased we were able to overcome both the economy and the weather.”

Promoters are more selective than ever when times are tough and Salem was able to attract three successful concerts based largely on the Civic Center’s experienced staff its proven track record.

“The Zac Brown Band, Jason Aldean and The Old Crow Medicine Show were all good fits for us, but we got them because of our longstanding relationship with the promoters and our staff’s ability to stretch an envelope to ensure a successful show,” says Harveycutter.

Events like these concerts or larger scale productions like the Salem Fair, the NCAA Championships and the Roanoke Valley Horse Show also generated indirect spending that was felt far beyond the box office.

“When the Civic Center has concerts and other large events during the work week we ramp up our staff level to equal that of a weekend night because we know we will be busy both before and after the event,” says Mac and Bob’s President Bob Rotanz. “With the recent NCAA Basketball championship and teams from softball over at the Moyer Complex coming in on that same weekend, our sales increased $5000 on Friday alone.”

Numbers were up on several fronts including attendance for the Salem Fair. In 2009, nearly 300,000 folks toured the fair’s 14-acre midway at some point during its 11-day run. That turned out to be an increase of 10 percent, despite 2 nights of rainy weather.

“It’s difficult in a down economic time to get programs like the Salem Fair that do so well,” says Harveycutter. “ODAC basketball and VHSL State wrestling aren’t huge moneymakers, but they are good for the community.”

“The Civic Center is one of the top producers of business for us and we recently enjoyed a 20 percent increase during the recent NCAA Division III and ODAC Basketball Championships,” says Blaine Shively, the General Manager of the Hampton Inn in Salem. “The Civic Center sponsored concerts, business meetings, horse show and Stagg Bowl provides the area with a much needed infusion of revenues from visitors throughout the year.”