The MGC recently awarded the City of Northampton with a Community Mitigation Fund grant of $75,000, continuing funding for the northampton.live marketing program for fiscal year 2022.

Northampton was first awarded $100,000 in 2017 by the MGC to help promote tourism and offset any unintentional economic impacts related to the opening of MGM Springfield.

A $29,000 grant in 2019 provided funding for continued marketing activities building upon activities already funded by the MGC, which included campaign planning activities and monitoring and measuring the response and feedback posted on the northampton.live website.

In 2020, the city received a $50,000 grant for continued funding for northampton.live.

“The Northampton project has been going on for several years,” MGC Community Affairs Division Chief Joe Delaney said. “Initially, it was designed to assist the City in developing a website to help offset expected impacts of MGM Springfield on Northampton’s tourism industry. The original idea was to design a system to help retain those customers that were familiar with what Northampton had to offer, and to reach potential MGM Springfield customers to entice them to come to Northampton.”

Delaney said the initial plan for the grants was to get the project up and running before the city eventually found local sources of funding to maintain the northampton.live website. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and raising funds from local businesses to support the project became difficult, the city applied for additional support through the MGC’s Community Mitigation Fund.

“I am grateful that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission recognized the need to keep this important resource alive as we work to emerge from the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Northampton Mayor David J. Narkewicz said. “This grant builds on and helps ensure the long-term impact of multiple-year investments by the MGC as they have assisted Northampton’s efforts to participate in the regional entertainment ecosystem.”

“We couldn’t be happier about the Commission’s continued support of this resource,” Amy Cahillane, Executive Director of the Downtown Northampton Association, said. “With this support, we will continue to make the case for Northampton as an exciting shopping and entertainment destination.”

The Community Mitigation Fund, established by the gaming law, helps host and surrounding communities and other qualified applicants to offset costs related to casino construction and operation. Grant awards support a range of community needs including education, transportation, infrastructure, housing, environmental issues, public safety, and emergency services.

Since 2015, the MGC has awarded nearly $28 million in grants from the Community Mitigation Fund.

For more information about the 2021 Community Mitigation Fund, click here.