HAMPTON, Va. — New grant funding has Hampton city leaders considering rebranding one district.
The Hampton Convention and Visitor Bureau wants to use a $320,000 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant to create an identity for the area of the Hampton Roads Convention Center, Hampton Coliseum and Hampton Aquaplex.
After conducting a branding study, Hampton Convention and Visitor Bureau Director Mary Fugere said that stakeholders have requested more entertainment, hotels and restaurants in the area.
The goal is to attract developers to multiple empty lots along Coliseum Drive, though she said one of the first steps is to create a new name for the campus.
“We have three established venues - the Hampton Coliseum, the Hampton Roads Convention Center and Hampton Virginia Aquaplex," Fugere said. "Hampton is that common denominator, but the campus itself is not branded.”
Those three venues are currently part of Coliseum Central, a large business district in Hampton.
"So that is everywhere from Hampton Roads Center Parkway over to Aberdeen Drive and then to Armistead Avenue," Fugere said.
Some new names on the table for the Hampton Roads Convention Center-Coliseum campus include Hampton Crossing, Constellation Point and Coliseum Park.
“To make the greatest impact on these venues’ businesses would be to brand the campus and develop some marketing tools,” Fugere said.
She said that includes new signage and a virtual tour of the site, which is already available online. Fugere said her team would work with city council members and branding contractors to find the right name for this space before moving forward. She said they don't want to rush this process.
Fugere said the city must use the ARPA funding by the end of June.