CREST project aims to bring sports arena, convention center and more near the Pocatello Regional Airport

POCATELLO — A project that would bring a convention center, sports arena, hotels and more right to the doorstep of a regional airport has been officially announced.

Regional leaders and stakeholders gathered at the Idaho State University Stephens Performing Arts Center Thursday to learn about C.R.E.S.T Pocatello, a multi-year project spearheaded by the Bannock Development Corporation to develop multiple facilities on underutilized property owned by the Pocatello Regional Airport. The project’s initials stand for convention, recreation, entertainment, sports and travel, and the project would develop facilities within a walkable area.

“This brings a lot of infrastructure and opportunity… and so much more attention (to the region),” said MiaCate Kennedy I, CEO of Bannock Development Corporation, a nonprofit that facilitates economic development in the southeastern Idaho region.

In order to design this broad-in-scope project, the Bannock Development Corporation enlisted the expertise of Jonathan Cole, the CEO of Pendulum Studios, based out of Kansas City, Missouri. According to the studio’s website, Cole has led the design efforts of over twenty minor league baseball parks across the U.S. in the past twenty years.

This project will take multiple years to complete and bring a convention center, sports arena and walkable green space to the area.

The convention center would feature multiple breakout rooms for seperate conventions, alongside conference rooms. Kennedy said the facility would attract business tourism and professional gatherings to region, and be conveniently located next to the airport for those traveling to whatever meeting or event they’re attending.

The arena would be multi-use, allowing teams from sports like football, basketball and even ice hockey to all use the same facility. The overhead design for the project also shows multiple sports fields neighboring the stadium.

“Every sport that you could think about could potentially utilize some of this space,” Kennedy said.

The design shows the CREST campus having walkable green space and multiple ponds. It would be immediately visible from the airport.

Kennedy said this development could bring further businesses to the area, such as hotels and restaurants. It could also bring additional flights to the Pocatello Regional Airport.

With this official announcement of the CREST project, it enters the investment phase, when its organizers can begin to court investors and hear pitches from individuals or organizations interested in joining the project.

“Now is when the hard work begins,” Kennedy said. “Now we can openly go out and market this project.”

One advantage the city of Pocatello brings is it already owns the land to be developed and has earmarked it for the project.

“I’m feeling really positive now we’re going into this recruitment phase, but that’s also a very intensive phase, because now, to make this project work we’re going to spend time getting those resources to get this developed,” Kennedy said.