The following is a article from the News-Press:
Ruane, Laura | January 2018
“This is a game-changer for Cape Coral,” said Tamara Pigott, executive director for Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau.
Pigott was referring to the $15 million Tarpon Point Ballroom meetings and events center that formally debuted Friday at The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village.
This 30,000-square-foot facility is forecast to generate about $30 million in economic impact in the three years following its completion; add 15,000 new visitors to the area each year; and create 33 new, year-round, full-time jobs at the resort.
“It’s going to become an economic driver to our city,” said Cape Coral Mayor Joe Coviello, who added he thinks the $30 million estimate “probably is short” of reality.
The new center for business and social events isn’t only a big deal for the Westin resort or the city of Cape Coral, Pigott noted.
“Every visitor who comes here for a business meeting is a potential return visitor,” Pigott told the crowd of about 250 attending the ribbon-cutting.
Many will return for a vacation, and spend money throughout the area.
Some will decide they want to move their business here or build a home in Southwest Florida.
Tourism and hospitality businesses account for one in five jobs in Lee County alone, according to visitor bureau research.
Said Pigott: “For Lee County, for our entire region, this (meetings venue) is going to make a tremendous difference.”