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July 201118

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As Seen In SportsEvents Magazine!

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Plan AheadOne way to encourage visitors is to sched-ule sports events to coincide with festivalsand special events in a city. “Advancedplanning and communication with leadersof other area events and attractions help usto be able to offer our participants andtheir family members an exciting experi-ence on and off the playing field,” saidKaren Sanford Gall, executive director ofthe Big Sky Games in Montana. “Our ath-letes do a lot more than just compete whenthey are in Billings.” In Oshkosh, which bills itself

“Wisconsin’s Event City,” there is alwayssomething happening that sports plannerscan take advantage of, said Brittani VonRuden, marketing director for VisitOshkosh. “Athletes here for the GreaterRaider Softball Tournament can also enjoyOshkosh Irish Fest. The Otter StreetFishing Club Walleye Tournament is at thesame time as the Miss WisconsinScholarship Pageant, and when an event isin town, we make them aware of every-thing else that is going on.”Another Wisconsin destination that bills

itself as perfect for combining sports com-petitions and family vacations is WisconsinDells, known as the Waterpark Capital ofthe World. Wisconsin Dells offers theworld’s largest concentration of indoor andoutdoor water parks in the world. It alsooffers the largest outdoor waterpark and ishome to the Wilderness Hotel and GolfResort with four indoor waterparks and

four outdoor waterparks on site.According to Wisconsin Dells CVB offi-

cials, teams from all over the country visitthe Dells for basketball tournaments atJustAgame Fieldhouse; volleyball campsat the Wisconsin Dells Center at ChulaVista Resort, a bubble-covered facility;baseball games at Rotary Park; hockeyshowdowns at the Poppy Waterman IceArena; and more.

Be Proactive“One of the most effective items we offerevents is our ‘Save the Date’ postcard thathas Billings informationon one side and event infoon the other,” said KellyMcCandless, leisure salesmanager for the Billings(Montana) CVB. “Webalance the conferenceinformation with infor-mation on what there isto see and do in Billingsand how to get moreinformation if the dele-gate wants to comeearly or stay late.”Parmenter said link-

ing to tourist informa-tion is helpful. “We putthe CVB link on ourIowa AAU event web-site so that athletes andtheir families can seewhat is in the entire

Des Moines metro area as far as theBridges of Madison County. Also, theCVB always has hospitality volunteers onsite at registration to help families planwhat to see and do while in town.” Athletes and their families know as soon

as they drive in to Lake Havasu City, Ariz.,that there is more going on than just theirevent, said Karen Barnett, director forevent management firm isol EventPartners. “We have banners all aroundtown welcoming runners, with sayings like‘Come for the run, stay for the fun.’ Wealso work with local companies, such as Mudshark Brewery, which helps �

Turn Your Sports Event Into

A Family VacationBY D. FRAN MORLEY

In today’s economy, families are looking for every way to stretch the dollar, and combining sports travel with the

family vacation is one way to do that. “Families research what there is to see and do before, during and after a

tournament. With the economy the way it is, sometimes it’s the only way that some families will have a vaca-

tion,” said Teresa Parmenter, governor of the Iowa Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU). Cities,

resorts and planners we spoke to for this article had suggestions about how to make the best of a “sport-cation.”

Planners may want to schedule a tournament in Oshkosh, Wis., to coincide with Lifefest, aChristian rock festival that also includes camp-ing, a Kidzone, food vendors and a marketplace.

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Oshkosh CVB

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July 201120 www.sportseventsmagazine.com

with our post-race festivities.”Barnett said the Havasu Half, a half-

marathon, has grown from a few hundredparticipants to more than 1,000 in fiveyears, thanks in part to one unique attrac-tion in the city. “Lake Havasu is home tothe original London Bridge, which wasdismantled brick by brick and reassem-bled here in 1971. Last year, a gal fromAustralia who was taking a holiday in theSouthwest thought it would be fun to runacross London Bridge, so she plannedher vacation around our event.”

Consider Cities Of All SizesBig cities have state-of-the-art sports facili-ties and all types of attractions, but so domany smaller communities. Check yourmap: areas just outside the metro area orwithin a few hours’ drive can be just theticket for family fun. Sherri Rogers, executive director of

Frontier Country Marketing Association,says the 12 central counties of Oklahomaare a great place to visit. “We offer a freebrochure called Trips on a Tank Full, withspecial discounts to attractions across the

region. It gives families great ideas onwhat to do in central Oklahoma.”Not only is Rockford, Ill., convenient to

three metropolitan areas (Chicago andMilwaukee and Madison, Wis.), it’s a rec-ognized “sports town,” said LindsayArellano, sports sales manager for theRockford Area CVB. “Rockford’s sportvenues are impressive facilities that arerecognized for excellence by voices in thesports industry, our Aldeen Golf Club wasnamed ‘best municipal golf course inIllinois’ by Golf Digest in 2009, and thecity was crowned Sports Town USA bySports Illustrated in 2004.” Toronto has it all, said Robert

Kawamoto, director of sports sales forTourism Toronto. “Not only doesToronto have seven professional sportsteams in hockey, lacrosse, baseball,football, soccer and basketball, butthere’s also ATP Tennis and the IRLHonda Toronto Indy. Youth, seniors

and families can find interactive activitieslike sailing, golf, paint ball, NASCARmini track, tennis, kayaking, fishing,marathons, cycling and rollerblading.”Ann Doggett, a community recreation

supervisor for Toronto Parks, Forestry andRecreation, said the Playdium in suburbanMississauga, was perfect for a recent U16National Field Hockey Championships.The 11-acre facility has more than 200interactive video and arcade games, battingcages, mini-golf, go-karts and more. “Itadded to our event as it gave us a place tobring everyone together.”San Antonio is “the playground of

Texas,” said Laura Hernandez Aplin,director of media and public relations forThe Westin La Cantera Resort, whichoffers free shuttle service to nearby SixFlags Fiesta Texas. “In addition, childrencan enjoy our Kids’ Club programs whileparents have a quiet lunch or swim in theadult pool.” When sports participants arrive in

Louisville, Ky., they receive the CVB’sPower Player Pass that gives them dis-counted admission and special offers atmany of the city’s attractions, restaurantsand retail outlets, said Gathan Borden,marketing manager for the Louisville

Plan For All SeasonsElaine Cullen, director of event marketing for the Lake Havasu City (Ariz.)

Convention and Visitors Bureau, said winter is a perfect time in Arizona for any

type of sports event. “We’ve hosted the World Jet Boat Finals with participants

from 40 countries for the past 30 years; we host baseball, running events and

tons of fishing tournaments. An event here in the winter can be a great escape

from winter cold.”

Mark Wilson, race director for HITS Triathlon Series has a race scheduled for

Lake Havasu in November 2012. “Our website includes lots of links and informa-

tion about what to do in Lake Havasu, and most families (usually three to five

people for each participant) arrive on Thursday and leave on Monday to take

advantage of the area attractions.”

During the winter months, warm destinations can be a real draw. Puerto Rico

offers a temperate climate with Olympic-quality facilities and exotic attractions

such as rainforest zip-lines and nighttime kayaking tours of a bioluminescent

bay. Plus, the destination is surprisingly affordable, said Lisa Altieri, associate

vice president of business development for the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau.

“Puerto Rico is actually much more value-friendly than you might think. We have

competitive airlift available with such carriers as JetBlue, Spirit and AirTran, and

budget-friendly hotels such as Doubletree, Courtyard by Marriott, Hampton Inn,

and others, as well as wide range of paradores (country inns), so it’s easy to

keep costs low.” �

Lake Havasu City,Ariz., hosts manytriathlons, giving

athletes the oppor-tunity to race

on the famousLondon Bridge.

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CVB. “Louisville is home to three of theworld’s most famous sports icons. TheLouisville Slugger Museum & Bat Factoryand the Muhammad Ali Center are locateddowntown along Main Street, within walk-ing distance of the Kentucky InternationalConvention Center and our brand-newwaterfront arena, KFC Yum! Center. Andthe Kentucky Exposition Center is in closeproximity to Churchill Downs and theKentucky Derby Museum, where attendeescan experience Derby year-round withracetrack and backside tours.”Independence, Mo., is a good base from

which to explore the entire Kansas Citymetro area, said Jeremy Rogers, recreationsupervisor for the City of Independence.“Not only are we just 25 minutes fromKansas City International Airport and min-utes from the Kansas City Chiefs andRoyals stadiums, we’re right in the middleof the whole country, so it is easy to gethere by air or car. We have world-classsports venues, including our new eventcenter, with year-around indoor ice-skat-ing. Adventure Oasis Water Park is fun forkids and families during their off time, andit’s also a great spot for sports ceremoniesand expos.”Parmenter of Iowa AAU said she sup-

ports her capital city of Des Moines. “Wealways encourage our families to visit thestate capitol. A little education along withentertainment is something that many fam-ilies are looking for.”The greater Des Moines area is wonder-

ful for a sport-cation because of world-class facilities, hundreds of miles of bikeand running paths, and attractions thatmake it fun to come early and stay late,said Mark Kostek, vice president, sportsand development for the Greater DesMoines Convention and Visitors Bureau(CVB). “We work closely with the eventowners and rights holders to see what theyneed and tailor our suggestions and sup-port to their needs.”An hour from Austin or San Antonio in

the Texas Hill Country, Fredericksburg

boasts a German-American heritage and ishome to a variety of attractions, includingthe National Museum of the Pacific War,Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, agrowing wine industry, and Old TunnelWildlife Management Area, home to mil-lions of bats. “Locals know this as ‘the battunnel,’ and it’s open nightly from Junethrough October for a really unique experi-ence,” said Daryl Whitworth, assistantdirector of the Fredericksburg Conventionand Visitors Bureau. “This abandoned rail-road tunnel has become home to over 1 million Mexican free-tailed bats thatemerge in a huge bat tornado everyevening. It really is an amazing sight andsomething that families will enjoy.”The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in

Macon, about 90 minutes south of Atlanta,is the largest state sports hall of fame inthe country, said Ruth Sykes, director ofcommunications for the Macon-BibbCounty CVB. “The museum tellsGeorgia’s rich sports story on all levels. Ifyou’re an athlete, you will find your sportrepresented here, with fun for all ages,including a NASCAR simulator and lots ofinteractive exhibits where you can testyour skills.” Family members might alsolike the city’s nightly Antebellum Mansion

Walk, the Allman Brothers Museum, or theOcmulgee National Monument, site of a17,000-year-old Native American settle-ment, Sykes said.East of Atlanta in Columbia County, vis-

itors can experience the International DiscGolf Center. “There are three champi-onship disc golf courses, the Disc GolfHall of Fame, the ‘Steady’ Ed HeadrickMemorial Museum (Headrick is creditedwith inventing the sport), and a pro shopand staff who will help novices withinstruction on the best way to play thegame,” said Beda Johnson of the ColumbiaCounty CVB. Less then two hours from Philadelphia,

Baltimore or Washington, D.C., YorkCounty, Pa., is known as the “Factory TourCapital of the World,” said Rob Mayer,public relations coordinator for the YorkCounty CVB. “You can go behind-the-scenes of America’s favorite products fea-turing everything from motorcycles tofresh, warm potato chips at more than 15free factory tours. You can meet the cowsat a local dairy and then grab a cone ofdelicious ice cream, hit the town and enjoyone of the area’s great restaurants, or cheeron the home team at Sovereign BankStadium, home to the 2010 AtlanticLeague Champions.” �

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Columbia County, Ga., offers many attractions to explore after the big game, including go-kart racing & disc golf.

In this economy, sometimes attending sports events is the only way for some families to have a vacation.

Columbia County CVB