Opening Date set for new Visitor Center & Gift Shop

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Sara Brish, 715-344-2556, sara@stevenspointarea.com

Photos and the new Stevens Point Area brand framework can be found here.

STEVENS POINT, Wis.  (November 16, 2020) – The Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (SPACVB) has announced an opening date for its new Visitor Center and Gift Shop. The new center, which will be located at 1105 Main Street Suite A in downtown Stevens Point, will open to the public for the first time on Saturday, November 28 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

“We look forward to welcoming visitors and locals into our new space,” said Sara Brish, executive director of the Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “While our address may be changing our dedication to promoting Portage County has not.”

The center will continue to serve as a hub for information on things to do and see in all of Portage County for locals and visitors. It will also include a retail component, with the launch of a Gift Shop, including items inspired by and promoting the region. Merchandise will also be available for purchase online.

To maintain a safe shopping environment, the Visitor Center will require masks be worn indoors and limit visitors to 10 at a time. Curbside and car-side delivery will be available for materials by calling 715-344-2556, as well as gift shop orders.

The timing of the soft opening with Shop Small Saturday hopes to promote the importance of small businesses throughout the region—which are pillars of our community. The SPACVB is also supporting local businesses through Merch Madness. The promotion is voting with head-to-head matchups to name the top shop in the Stevens Point Area, in time for Shop Small Saturday. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/MerchMadnessStPtArea.

Work to reimagine the Visitor Center and the SPACVB administrative offices began in 2014. The current location at 340 Division Street North was built in 1998 next to the region’s largest hotel and convention center at the time, before the advent of the digital revolution.

“2020 has brought plenty of challenges but this move allows us to stay relevant today and into the future and it wouldn’t have been possible without Sentry Insurance,” said Sara Brish, executive director of the Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We aren’t building for today, or even tomorrow. We are planning for the next 25 years.”

Given the economic challenges facing tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of income through the sale of the existing building to Sentry provided a lifeline to bolster reserves in the face of a nearly 66% reduction in realized income. The agreement with Sentry also provided the opportunity for the SPACVB to create a space downtown to better address the needs of the local travel industry and its visitors for decades to come.

The move also coincides with the launch of a new brand for the Stevens Point Area. Since 2017, the Stevens Point Area CVB has been working to paint a data-driven picture of the Stevens Point Area brand as part of a long-range brand development process. During the past year, the data was compiled and used to create the brand framework. The brand, which is on display in the 2020 Stevens Point Area Visitor Guide and other collateral materials, will be a large component of the new space.

Since 1986, the Stevens Point Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has served as an economic and community development organization whose purpose is to expand Portage County’s economy by attracting conventions, sporting events, and leisure tourists to Portage County. Millions of dollars from visitor spending and increased tax revenues are generated to increase commerce, sustain jobs, and create a desirable destination.

For more information on the Stevens Point Area, visit StevensPointArea.com. More information can be found on Facebook.com/StevensPointArea, Instagram.com/stevenspointarea/, Twitter.com/StevensPtArea, Youtube.com/SPACVB, and Pinterest.com/StevensPtArea.

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