SportsEvents is edited for those who plan tournaments or other sports events.
Issue link: https://sportsevents.epubxp.com/i/261418
February 2014 22 www.sportseventsmagazine.com economy, according to AKC Director of Event Management Michael Canalizo, participation in AKC events is growing again. "The last two years we've had sin- gle-digit increases in participation overall," said Canalizo. "Agility has grown the most and has had a double- digit increase. Conformation has increased less. We expect significant increases this year and in years to come. Some of our competitions this year are showing increases of 200 to 300 dogs a day." The AKC's 500+ member clubs and more than 4,000 affiliated clubs organize and operate all but one of AKC's canine sports events. They range greatly in size and follow strict AKC dictates concerning the permissible location for major events. Canalizo said that sports event professionals interested in hosting an event would be wise to contact the AKC website and na- tional office first and the organiza- tion can facilitate contact with the proper local or regional clubs. The one annual sporting event operated by AKC is the eight-day ex- travaganza held each December, which culminates in the AKC/Eu- kanuba National Championship, the largest dog event in the nation. The mega-event includes national cham- pionships of multiple AKC disci- plines along with various specialty shows and affiliated activities. Last year's rendition had more than 4,000 dog com- petitors. It has been held in one million square feet of event space at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando the last three years and will continue there for at least the next two. Canalizo said the event has brought an estimated $40 million to Orlando and noted that the event nearly fills the city's three major hotels in a time slot that's relatively quiet for the city otherwise. Another major 2014 AKC event, the AKC National Agility Champi- onship, to be held in March, is ex- pected to have a record number of entries. The Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harris- burg, Pa., will host the event. In 2015, the event will return to the Reno-Sparks Live- stock Event Center in Reno, Nev. Canalizo said that 600,000 square feet to 800,000 square feet are typical space re- quirements for the larger AKC competi- tions, along with sub- stantial hotel and parking support, but that modestly sized facilities work great for the right local or regional event. "A site with 200,000 square feet is a perfect site for a local dog show, though facilities as small as 60,000 square feet can work for certain competitions," said Canalizo. AKC events can have exceptional economic im- pact on host communities. The organiza- tion uses a for- mula to plan for events that indi- cates that three people are in at- tendance for every dog in competition, according to Canalizo, who said economic im- pact studies done on AKC events show about $330 comes into the community per dog, or $330,000 per 1,000 dogs. A 1,000-dog show will probably translate to 100 room nights on peak nights, according to Canal- izo. The economic impact for a typical regional event can be as much as $8 million. United States Dog Agility Association While AKC serves as a primary sanc- tioning body for a number of canine sports, agility competitions and con- formation competitions among them, the United States Dog Agility Associ- ation Inc. (USDAA) is all about ca- nine agility and is the world's largest independent authority for that specific canine sport. Dallas-based USDAA represents more than 100 affiliated groups and more than 25,000 regis- tered competitors. Mixed breeds compete in its competitions. USDAA produces four interna- tional tournament series—Grand Prix of Dog Agility World Champi- onships, Dog Agility Steeplechase, Dog Agility Masters Three-Dog Team Championships and the Mas- ters Challenge Biathlon. The Grand Prix event, according to the USDAA ▼ SPORT Report The U.S. Dog Agility Association is the world's largest independent authority for the sport. Economic impact studies done on AKC events show about $330 comes into the community per dog, or $330,000 per 1,000 dogs. The economic impact for a typical regional event can be as much as $8 million. USDAA *21-27 SE FEB 2014_Layout 1 2/11/14 11:16 AM Page 22