Win, lose or draw

The Spokane CVB helps event organizers with off-site activities such as rafting trips.

Courtesy Spokane CVB

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By Dan Dickson

Ever been “slimed”? Some coaches at the North American Roller Hockey Championships in Cincinnati know what it’s like.

Coaches were nominated by their kids to participate in a question-and-answer contest specific to roller hockey in an amphitheater before thousands of athletes, coaches, fans and family members.

“If they didn’t get an answer right, they got slimed,” said Leslie Spencer, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Sports Corp.

For the uninitiated, getting slimed means being dumped on with an oozy green but washable liquid as seen on Nickelodeon’s popular children’s television shows. Slime Wars, staged at the Kings Island amusement park, was one of the fun team-building activities provided for the roller hockey visitors by the sports corporation.

When the National Transplant Games were held in Pittsburgh in 2008, participants had a special outing to a Pirates game at PNC Park. Courtesy Forever Resorts

When the final score is tallied and the cheers fade away, visiting athletes want to have fun, especially in a town they’ve never visited. Cincinnati knows how to deliver it.

“We set up our participants with 30 percent to 50 percent discounts at 12 regional attractions,” said Spencer. “During opening ceremonies, we may set up a night either at a Cincinnati Reds game, King’s Island, Dave and Buster’s [a restaurant and arcade], Gameworks [a high-tech game venue] or the zoo.”

The corporation customizes entertainment for tournaments and sports events like holding home-run derbies during baseball or softball tournaments. When Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) visited the city, the corporation maintained a baseball theme.

“That’s in partnership with the Reds. For opening ceremonies, we did a night at Dave and Buster’s, and then the next day, included a Reds night,” said Spencer.

Sometimes an event organizer’s request is dizzying, like when the State Wars Inline Hockey National Championships, a 12-state hockey tournament with 2,500 kids, arrived in Cincinnati.
“Their opening ceremonies had to occur every four days, because an entirely different group of athletes came in to compete. It was quite a challenge,” said Spencer. 


Economic dividends
In Pittsburgh, the CVB and many downtown partners work closely to show visiting athletes a good time, so the booking will pay economic dividends both now and if the athletes and their families choose to return to the Steel City.

“Our goal is to show that Pittsburgh has something for everyone — a great meeting, convention or sports event, plus everything else — pro sports, great restaurants and services for your downtime,” said Jennifer Hawkins, sports marketing director for VisitPittsburgh. “If they have fun, we want them to come back on vacation. Maybe they’ll tell their friends and other event organizers, too.”

Local discounts are also important to VisitPittsburgh, and the athletes benefit.

“In 2005, we hosted the CITGO Bassmaster Classic, and earlier this year we hosted the FLW Outdoors Forest Wood Cup,” said Hawkins. “For both events, we did a specialty book called a Bassport — a takeoff on the word passport — with discounts to partner restaurants with about $500 in savings. We had them specially designed and customized with the event logos.”

East Coast Volleyball got similar discounts in Pittsburgh. Participants received hotel key cards with the event logo on them, which served as their ticket to many discounts.

When athletes have daytime events, they usually have evenings to themselves. Most sports groups seek out sports-related activities located near their downtown hotels.

“We work with group ticket sales offices and definitely with the Pittsburgh Pirates, because there are always games during the summer. We buy a certain number of discount tickets,” said Hawkins.
For the U.S. Transplant Games, which are Olympic-style games for transplant recipients, the group set up booths at the Pirates home field, PNC Park; sat together; had announcements about their organization made during the game; and even had someone throw out the first pitch.


A tropical environment
Meanwhile, the natural, tropical environment of Corpus Christi, near the southern tip of Texas known as the Coastal Bend, is entertainment enough for many athletes who compete in the city.
“The beaches, barrier islands, our local attractions, year-round weather,” said Ed Persall, vice president for convention and sports sales for the Corpus Christi CVB. “A lot depends on what their schedules are. If they’re here strictly for competition, whether basketball, volleyball or soccer, they’re already on a schedule, but their leisure time is when they get to play.”

Texas knows how to play Alive outdoor show and a big steak — that’s what the Amarillo, Texas, Convention and Visitors Council once arranged for youth sports teams that played in their city. After the events, “the kids really enjoyed going to Palo Duro Canyon State Park in the evening for the Texas musical drama and a steak dinner at the famed Big Texan Steak Ranch. Teams can buy a package deal and attend that. It’s a one-of-a-kind show that draws people from all over the world,” said Tina Teague, convention sales manager for the Amarillo CVC. Teague tries to work with each sports event planner based on what they need. If athletes have free hours, especially during the summer, the council helps them coordinate group tours and transportation to Palo Duro Canyon, a 120-mile-long canyon called the Grand Canyon of Texas, located 25 miles southeast of Amarillo. “We set it up so they can receive discount rates and coupons for their entry fee,” said Teague. “Kids also like the normal kid things, like visiting our Splash Amarillo WaterPark or Wonderland Amusement Park, and we’re able to get them good group rates at either venue.” Teague appreciates how creative her team can be when finding entertainment options for young athletes. “We’ve had groups come in the dead of winter, and our director of servicing is wonderful at finding things for them. We had a tumbling group come and later held a sock hop at the civic center, where they had a dance and pizza party.”

Athletes at Spikesfest, an outdoor amateur volleyball event, played on the grounds of the Texas State Aquarium. The aquarium worked with the volleyball group and gave them access to the aquarium from the grounds at a special discount price.

“All attractions offer discounts based on a certain number of guaranteed visitors,” said Persall. “They want to be assured that 100 will be going through, rather than some of them going at their leisure. They buy bulk tickets for their group to get the discount.”

Another attraction for postgame fun in Corpus Christi is the World War II-era aircraft carrier USS Lexington.

“People go on it and visit areas like the hangar deck, bunks and dining and meeting space. It’s a unique attraction, and a lot of people want to see it,” said Persall.

But the No. 1 feature is the beach, especially for young people. “We have beach activities such as jet ski rental, trampoline jumps and banana-boat pulling. It gives them a little excitement on the water,” said Persall.

For 30 years, Corpus Christi has hosted a major soccer tournament during Thanksgiving weekend. Teams have come from all over the United States and Mexico. Children and adults can compete and then play, because the weather is still pleasant in late November.

“Leisure travel is the biggest market for us, and a lot of visitors want to spend their vacation time here,” said Persall.

However, not all coaches want their athletes to wear down before they get to perform, said Suzanne Boyce, director of sponsorships and communications for the Spokane Regional Sports Commission in Washington. Boyce, a former coach herself, said, “Coaches don’t want their kids out in the sun and heat and expending too much energy before game time. So we’ll have water parks, LaserQuest [indoor laser games] and provide discount coupons for them in their welcome packets. They can use them later for team bonding.”

Sometimes the games require that activities happen before or after the games, such as opening and closing ceremonies.

“We comply, but try to take it above and beyond what’s required in the bid. We have hosted parties with hors d’oeuvres and wines from our local wineries,” said Boyce.

Next year, Spokane will host the American Legion World Series, and the sports commission is trying hard to make it memorable for participants.

“For example, for spouses day, we must be creative and find an event that speaks to the community, to the cultural aspect of Spokane, and make it really unique and ‘us,’” said Boyce. “It could be a wine tour, because we have so many great wineries around here, or a rafting or hiking trip, or even a tour of our forest fire museum.”

Spokane can’t offer everything a city like Seattle can, but the city more than holds its own. In July, Spokane hosted the 2009 National Veterans Wheelchair Games with 630 athletes and 17 events.
“They enjoyed being in Spokane, because we have big-city amenities but are small enough that we can really wrap ourselves around them as a community,” Boyce explained enthusiastically. “They got so much publicity it was wonderful. People in the streets were welcoming the athletes.”

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