INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – Indian River County officials recently announced the launching of two specialty websites meant to market the county fairgrounds and expo center and the North County Aquatic Center.

“We really want to get the phones ringing,” said Scott Johnson, the county’s Webmaster. Staff members were tasked earlier this year with coming up with a game plan to make better, more efficient use the Indian River County Fairgrounds and Expo Center, along with other county owned facilities.

Part of the crafted plan includes better marketing of the facilities to attract new events.

The two new websites are www.ExpoFairFlorida.com and www.SwimTrainFlorida.com.

“It’s a little break away from what we’re used to with the government websites,” Assistant County Administrator Mike Zito told commissioners, “which show the public what we have to offer and that we are open for business.”

The website for the North County Aquatic Center is meant to lure more training events to the facility, specifically for coaches and teams.

“That is a premier facility,” Zito said. However, prior to now, the county could only offer the facility for swim training – not weight training or other amenities teams look for in a facility, he added.

Zito told commissioners that the county is working on a partnership with the Vero Beach Sports Village, formerly Dodgertown, to provide lodging, dining and various types of training.

Zito said that once that partnership is formed, the North County Aquatic Center – and the county – would be able to offer a more professional training experience.

The website for the fairgrounds and expo center will serve two purposes – one, to advertise the facility for events, and another to provide information to residents about upcoming events scheduled there.

Johnson pointed out a scrolling calendar of events on the fairground’s website, which visitors to the site could review to see if anything of interest is going on at the fairgrounds.

Zito said the next step for the staff would be to attend trade and agriculture shows and other such events to help promote the facility for new, potentially recurring events.

“It’s important to plug into the network,” Zito said, adding that the county should continue to work with the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, the Indian River County Fair Association and the 4-H clubs.

Commissioners expressed support for the two websites and commended Zito and Johnson for the work that had gone into them.