Comfort Inn & Suites open for business in North Mankato

NORTH MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) — A new hotel could mean a potential business and tourism boom for the city of North Mankato, and even the region.

Developers are confident that they picked the right place to set up shop.

“This is the perfect place, the industry, the youth sports, the community involvement. It’s just really exciting,” said Eric Seljeskog, Comfort Inn & Suites owner and developer.

Comfort Inn & Suites, located on Commerce Drive, opened to the public on April 30.

“This will serve as an excellent resource to the visitors at Caswell Park and other businesses and entities in the area,” North Mankato Administrator John Harrenstein said.

The next step in tourism, economy and business for the city of North Mankato, especially with Caswell Sports Complex.

“Caswell Park generates between $5 million and $8 million in economic benefit. Having a quality hotel in our area is critical to achieving those goals,” Harrenstein added.

Comfort Inn & Suites is already reaping the benefits.

“Nine or 10 teams are already staying here in July. Some of those weekends haven’t been announced yet, so some of those teams, a few days before, will book for a weekend,” Caswell Sports director Phil Tostenson said.

The Caswell Sports Complex is getting a $5 million expansion which will only bring more business and visitors to the hotel, especially since the softball tournaments bring in people from out of state to the area.

Officials say that it will help put North Mankato on the map and build for the future.

“It allows us to bring in bigger events and longer events. My goal is to bring in something about a week long,” Tostenson said.

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