Following the Clear Vision Eau Claire report that suggested a need for different arts/events venues in town, a Community Events Facilities Committee formed and spent a few years digging into the issue. Well that committee came forth on June 30 with the decree: “We know some stuff.” Said stuff includes the fact that Eau Claire conclusively needs a community event facility (or facilities), and the group ultimately recommends that Clear Vision begin the process of getting more specific. You know, minor details like: what will said facility be?, how do we pay for it?, and where does it go?. And they will likely begin that process through Idea Lounge-style public meetings early this fall.

The fact that more than 70% [of all people surveyed] said we need a big arts center, convention center, and major event center places importance on figuring out our priorities.

Over the course of the past few years, the committee (led by Mike Rindo at UWEC, Linda John at Visit Eau Claire, and Ben Richgruber from Eau Claire Regional Arts Center) hit the streets and did some scientific surveying. Their goal? To figure out if people would like to see event offerings not currently offered, what those would be, and where they would take place.

They talked one-on-one with community leaders (one set of data) as well as hit up the general populace at big annual events (another set of data). While quite a bit of the data showed agreement (like the kinds of events they’d like to see, big-name concerts), questions like “Does Eau Claire currently have facilities for such events?” showed there’s quite a gap between those in the know (7% said yes) and the general public (56% said yes). So a certain degree of education may be in order with the upcoming meetings.

But the fact that more than 70% on both sides said we need a big arts center, convention center, and major event center also places importance on figuring out our priorities. (Or, if all else fails, devising some weird combination concoction SportArtsConventionArium that will blow the minds of us and sign companies alike.) Of course, the presentations will also include information on what other communities have, what has worked, what has failed, and what translates to the Chippewa Valley.

Stay tuned, as we’ll be following this like teenage girls and vampire romance.