Lacey City Council approves 2027 lodging tax funding allocations 

The Lacey City Council approved nearly $1 million in lodging tax awards for 2027. 

The Regional Athletic Complex (RAC) will receive the largest share of the money, including funds to replace synthetic turf. The remaining awards will support events, marketing and facilities expected to attract visitors who book hotel rooms in the city. 

Council members unanimously approved the $987,956 package during their meeting on Oct. 6. The awards follow recommendations from the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee.

The package supports 18 applications selected from 24 submissions. The committee prioritized activities in Lacey and its urban growth area (UGA), along with events expected to attract visitors from at least 50 miles away. 

Lacey Management Analyst Sadie Siglin said the city collects a combined 4 percent lodging tax on qualifying accommodations. State law restricts the revenue to tourism marketing, special events, festivals and qualifying tourism facilities. 

Funding allocations 

The RAC will receive $290,000 for operations and $395,456 for synthetic turf replacement. The turf money will come from a $500,000 reserve for field replacement, leaving $104,544 in the account. 

Other major awards include $105,000 for Experience Olympia & Beyond, $40,000 for the Lacey Chamber Visitors Center and $30,000 for FC Olympia Artesian soccer matches. The Washington Center for the Performing Arts will receive $25,000 and Washington State Senior Games will receive $13,000. 

Five recipients will receive $10,000 each. They are Lacey MakerSpace, Thurston County Fairgrounds & Event Center, CapCity ComicCon, USSSA Cascades National Championship Tournament and South Sound BBQ Festival. 

Budd Bay Rugby, the LET’S EAT! Food Festival and Taste of the Sound 2027 will receive $7,500 each. Lacey Night Market will receive $7,000, while Lacey Poly Fest and the South Sound Harvest Festival will each receive $5,000. 

Apart from the turf reserve, the package uses all $590,023 in projected 2027 lodging tax revenue and $2,477 from unassigned reserves.

General funding requests climbed to $873,282, exceeding projected annual revenue by $283,259. Fourteen of the 18 recommended applicants will receive less than they requested. 

The approved activities are projected to generate more than 31,000 paid overnight visits. However, Siglin said reported overnight visits are not necessarily limited to Lacey or its UGA. 

Tourism priorities 

The committee declined six applications, including a $5,000 request from the Nisqually Reach Nature Center. Capital Lakefair, The Velvet Room, an Olympia Youth Chorus festival, a holiday market and Haunted 5K also received no funding. 

Siglin said the Nisqually center hosts its activities in Olympia. Its application projected 40 paid overnight visits, according to the city. The committee instead funded applications more closely matched to council priorities, Siglin said. 

Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller, who chairs the committee, said the center mainly attracts people already in the area and generates few new overnight bookings.

He said the committee stuck to its “heads and beds” philosophy. Experience Olympia & Beyond, for example, sought $125,000 after receiving about $110,000 in prior years. 

“There were a lot of people who didn’t make it into this funding, unfortunately,” Miller said. “Some of the requests have increased over the years, but we didn’t find that we had the additional revenue to match their increase.” 

To increase support for the RAC, the city did not submit its customary requests for Fun Fair and Music in the Park, Miller said. He described the complex as the leading source of overnight visits in Lacey. 

However, the turf award will drain much of a reserve the city saved for years. Miller said synthetic fields require periodic replacement, leaving the council to decide how to restore the fund. 

“We need to get it back up there,” Miller said. “We’re going to have to replace fields and replace fields and replace fields, and we are going to need those dollars replenished somehow.” 

The council also discussed lodging taxes on short-term rentals. Lacey Finance Director Troy Woo said he believed state guidance applies the tax to accommodations rented for fewer than 30 days, including Airbnb and Vrbo properties. 

The city expects to issue funding agreements in January or February 2027. Recipients must report attendance and tourism outcomes after their activities, providing data for the annual state lodging tax report.