“The next big event we have on the calendar is the Mardi Gras, which is about a month from now the first week of February and then we continue to roll through the year with a lot of other events,” Dan Rowe, President and CEO of Visit Panama City Beach, said.
Frank Brown Park is home to some of the biggest events in the area. Twice a year bikers from across the country come to rev their engines at the Thunder Beach Rallies and country music fans fill this park to the brim for Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam. Both events will be returning in 2023. While big events tend to drive in the big numbers, that isn’t the only thing bringing people to the beach these days. Last year, the Publix Sports Complex brought in a whopping $139 million to the area, which is a massive push for local businesses.
“You know the sports complex, being on the east end of the beach really does help in the summertime spread folks out you know, all the way around the beach so that everybody’s not at Frank Brown Park and Pier Park,” Rowe said. “You know, the residents in Panama City Beach, don’t have an ad valorem tax, you know to fund the city. A lot of the city’s funding comes from our visitors.”“This is our fourth year and we keep coming back. We enjoy the people down here. They’re very friendly.