It’s been dubbed “The MEC,” and it’s set to give the Pocatello area a huge economic boost.
The Mountain View Event Center, located on the northeast side of Pocatello off Interstate 15, officially opened its doors at the end of 2016. The 40,000-square-foot, $6.2 million project already has approximately 20 events scheduled, and the managers of the multipurpose facility are looking to book more.
The MEC has plenty of facilities to attract visitors to the Gate City area. These include three full-size basketball courts, six volleyball courts, a state-of-the-art hardwood floor, a full concessions area, a large conference room, wireless internet and room for up to 1,600 seats. These amenities will allow Pocatello to play host to large-scale sports playoff tournaments, concerts, trade shows and banquets.
But the MEC’s biggest impact will come from tourism dollars.
“We’re planning on bringing in a lot of tournaments and different types of trade shows and those things so we can put people in hotel beds,” said Raul Cano, executive director for the Pocatello-Chubbuck Auditorium District. “And as you do that, that continues the cycle of drawing people into the community, and that will allow us to continue to market our building and bring more events into our community, which really helps our whole area.”
The MEC is financed through nearby Grace Lutheran High School. However, the facility is leased to the Pocatello-Chubbuck Auditorium District, which manages the day-to-day operations. No local property, sales or income taxes are involved. The facility and its operations are funded directly through a 5 percent hotel tax, an amount estimated to bring in approximately $850,000 each year.
Though the influx of money generated by the hotel tax directly benefits the MEC, the large numbers of visitors coming to town for events at the MEC directly benefits the local economy. While in town, these visitors will spend money at Pocatello’s restaurants, gas stations, hotels, grocery stores and numerous other businesses in the area.
These tourists are a major cornerstone to the economy in Southeast Idaho. According to a 2012 report by ESMI and Drake Cooper, tourists pumped more than $80 million into Bannock County in 2011. Their vacations supported more than 1,545 area jobs and helped pay more than $29 million in wages to hotel and hospitality workers.
The MEC promises to boost those numbers for years to come, while also giving visitors the chance to see what the Gate City area has to offer.
“It’s really a great marketing feature for Pocatello-Chubbuck because now people are coming to town from the outside and seeing what kind of a great community we’ve got,” Cano said. “Maybe they want to live here. Maybe they want to bring their company here.”
Though the major events will be held during the weekends, local youth and club teams will be able to utilize the MEC during the weekdays. According to Cano, recent studies indicated that one thing that was missing from the Gate City area is adequate gym space. With the construction of the MEC, that is no longer a problem.
