The boss of Destination Wollongong has thrown his weight behind a plan to create a purpose-built festival and major events space for the Illawarra, but is not sure if Bombo is the right spot.
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A group of Kiama residents is campaigning for a section of Bombo Quarry to be transformed into an entertainment precinct catering to thousands of patrons per day.
Proposed as the "Kiama Epicentre", it would also include a community cultural arts space, community garden, camp-site, and children's nature play area.
DW general manager Mark Sleigh said having a dedicated festival space at a suitable site would make events "sustainable for operators and gives attendees a better overall visitor experience".
"From a community perspective, choosing the right site also ensures limited disruption to the way the city runs on a daily basis," he said.
"The challenge ... is how [does the site] support local business, and in order to support local business they generally need to be a little more central than that."
Mr Sleigh said it was hard to say if Bombo was "too far from the action" when comparing to festival sites like for Splendour in the Grass, which is 20km from Byron Bay.
He said a remote site could work but would revolve around camping and pop-up food and beverage stalls, however, it wouldn't foster the economy like something closer to a central business district (like WIN Entertainment Centre) which helps promote local bars, restaurants and hotels within walking distance.
Bombo Quarry is owned by Boral and Transport NSW, with smaller parcels owned by Kiama Council and Cleary Brothers.
The Kiama Epicentre Association understand the 114-hectare site at Bombo Quarry is ripe for residential and commercial development in the next decade, but wants only around 16 per cent dedicated to the community - which would include the major events site.
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