Can-Do Attitude

Small Cities’ BIG IDEAS Are Attracting Even Bigger Events & Groups

By Sherri Middleton

When USA Triathlon (USAT) chose Tuscaloosa, Ala., as the host for its 2008 Olympic Trials, organizers said the city had a “can-do” attitude.

“There wasn’t ever a time when someone just said, ‘No, it can’t be done,’” said Jeff Dyrek, national events director for USAT. “It was more like, ‘We can’t answer this, but I will find someone who can.’ And they did.”

The April event was originally slated for Honolulu, but when the promised support failed to come through, organizers sought alternative locations. Tuscaloosa was chosen as much for having positive community support as for having the right venues to provide a perfect setting, he said.

With 1,500 participants for the weekend competition and 21 Olympic-eligible athletes, the trials drew more than the anticipated 10,000 spectators and generated more than $9 million in revenue for the community. It also garnered national television exposure on NBC.

“Tuscaloosa was selected because of the overwhelming support from the mayor, convention and visitors bureau (CVB), police, fire rescue, university, department of transportation, and the list goes on,” Dyrek said. “For our sport, you need a body of water to swim in. Once you find one that will work, you can build around that for the roads and trails for the bike and run portion.”

Tuscaloosa staged the trials at River Road Park East, just outside the University of Alabama campus, and Jack Warner Parkway and the scenic Riverwalk along the Black Warrior River. “Spectators didn’t have to move more than a few hundred feet in any direction to see the athletes swim, bike and run. It’s a unique venue combining city support, a competitive course, scenic views and spectator friendliness,” Dyrek said.

Stephanie Roberts, director of sports marketing for the Tuscaloosa CVB, said the triathlon was successful because “the whole community came together to make it as smooth as possible. We worked together and provided the perfect setting. That lets us hold world-class events on par with the most progressive cities in the country.”

When USAT officials looked to Tuscaloosa for the 2008 Olympic Trials, it didn’t hurt that the weather in this Alabama community mimics the climate athletes will experience in Beijing this summer.

Like Playing In Someone’s Backyard
Joshua Bricker, sports and events sales manager for the Dublin (Ohio) CVB, agreed that community involvement is key to holding successful sports events regardless of the size of the city. “Our motto is ‘Dublin is an attitude,’ and our attitude is that it takes a whole community to host a successful event.”

Bricker said the community—only 15 minutes northwest of Columbus—realizes it can’t compete with the amenities of a first-tier market, but it can provide a sports event destination that caters to baseball, soccer, football, softball, golf and other events in a way that a larger city can’t. In Dublin, hospitality industry officials can offer planners, athletes and fans that “hometown” feeling.

Bill Merrylees, superintendent of the Uniformed Division of the London, Ontario, Police Service and a committee chair for the Canadian-American (Can-Am) Police and Fire Games, said his group chose Dublin for its 2010 games after meeting Bricker at the National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) annual conference in Dallas last year. “He took extra effort to communicate with us about what Dublin has to offer. He showed us how Dublin could offer a multi-sport experience in a variety of venues. And, the city’s police department was experienced in coordinating and managing similar events.”

Knowing that Dublin could provide everything from fields to tracks, pools to schools made it easy for Can-Am organizers to see how Dublin could easily manage the games’ 50-plus events, Merrylees said.

“They put on the red-carpet treatment for us by lining up organizers, city and corporate sponsors, and a community that wanted our event. It felt like being invited to someone’s backyard barbecue. They made us feel like we were with family.”

Big Ideas Come From Big Vision
Scott Atkinson, director of communications for USA Waterski, said his organization has found a world-class sports environment in Central Florida’s Polk County. USA Waterski has held hundreds of events in Central Florida, and Atkinson said the level of support was so great that the organization moved its headquarters there in 2000. “It’s a good destination for sports events because of the weather and because of easy access to the U.S. Interstate 4 corridor, theme parks, and two major airports in Orlando and Tampa. Polk County also has a rich sports heritage and a wide range of demographics. It’s geographically a wonderful location, and the area receives tremendous support from corporate sponsors, media and the community. Those were all things we wanted.”

Being centrally located between Orlando and Tampa and having a population of more than 600,000 makes the area “a hotbed for sports activities,” according to Mark Jackson, director of tourism and sports marketing for Central Florida’s Polk County Sports Marketing. Last year the marketing group brought 207 sports events to town, and Jackson expects those numbers to grow considerably with the opening of a sports complex that will host soccer, football, lacrosse, rugby and other sports
in addition to housing multiple sports organization offices and a hall of fame. “The concept is to build the infrastructure to attract the groups you want,” he said.

Ed Thiebe, executive director of the Florida Youth Soccer Association (FYSA) agreed. “Big ideas come about because of big vision. There are big thinkers in Central Florida and Polk County. They are optimistic.”

Currently headquartered in Orlando, FYSA has decided to relocate to Auburndale (between Winter Haven and Polk City, Fla.) where a youth soccer complex is planned. Thiebe said he expects FYSA headquarters to move to new offices just a short drive from the new soccer complex by 2010. The new soccer complex will provide the number of fields needed for FYSA competitions, room to train on multiple-skill levels, and the opportunity to work with a variety of sports organizations to create an impressive facility that should rival the best training or playing sites in the country, he said.

“There’s a substantial economic impact for this community with the numbers of events we can hold. We understand the impact we will have, and we are appreciative of everyone who has worked with us. This started as a simple need for a place to play soccer and it has grown into a whole sports complex.”