SportsEvents is edited for those who plan tournaments or other sports events.
Issue link: https://sportsevents.epubxp.com/i/88798
Natural Venues kayak races called the Mill Race Massacre and the Iceman Championships. Vancouver Lake Regional Park is a big tourist and event destination, said Zach Stratton, marketing assistant for the Vancouver USA Regional Tourism Office. "This is a beautiful 234-acre park, not far from downtown, with 35 acres of main- tained area with open grass fields, picnic areas, parking, and 2.5 miles of lakefront. Plus, it features views of Mount St. Helens, Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams." Tourists and athletes flock to the Rapid City, S.D., area for a variety of Black Hills terrain, including the Needles, the Badlands, and the Hanson-Larson Memorial Park, located in the heart of the city, noted Domico Rodriguez, sports and events sales director for the Rapid City CVB. "The park has a mountainous ter- rain, perfect for mountain biking and trail running." Natural Venues, Unique Challenges Chris Bischoff, tournament director with the MasterCraft Pro-Wakeboard Tour, said finding a centrally located venue with approximately 2,000 feet of straight water- way more than 12 feet deep, with 1,000 feet of flat shoreline for vendor set up— plus a sloped shoreline for spectator view- ing with plenty of space for parking—can be tricky. "And then after we find that, we have to hope that we can get approval from the local municipalities to have the event on that particular body of water, which can prove to be a major challenge." Thus, a good local CVB or sports coun- cil can be an event planner's biggest asset, Bischoff said. "The Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation is great to work with and has helped to make Volunteer Landing in Knoxville one of the best of the summer stops for us." Lakes and rivers often cross city, county or even state boundaries, which means that planners have to be prepared to work with multiple entities. Parks can present similar issues, said Dave Haglund, commissioner for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, speaking of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Cross Country National Championships held at Fort Vancouver 4 Natural Venues Guide 2012 since 2009. "Our biggest challenge is dealing with the number of entities involved: the National Park Service, the U.S. Army and National Guard (which had buildings and parking lots on the property), the City of Vancouver, and the CVB. There were a number of logistical hoops to jump through with each of these agencies." Haglund's biggest tip to event planners is to determine at the outset all entities that need to be in the line of com- munication so that all proper permissions have been vetted and determined well in advance. Dealing with growth can be a good-to- have challenge. "The Black Hills Fat Tire Festival, looking forward to its seventh year in 2013, has become the most suc- cessful event held at the Hanson-Larson Memorial Park, a jewel right in the mid- dle of Rapid City," Rodriguez said. "Until recently, there was never enough parking around this privately owned park. But in the past year, a larger parking lot and a shelter were constructed in an adjoining public park, and now the opportunities are endless." A venue that borders residential and business districts comes with the added challenge of keeping the locals happy, said Tammy Dunn, CSEE, sports marketing manager for the Snohomish County (Wash.) Sports Commission. "We have several great venues right on Puget Sound in areas where there are also houses and shops. The Mastercraft Pro Wakeboard tour draws about 8,000 to Lake Tye Park, and we have to be careful that spectators don't block traffic in residential areas. We have a transport from parking lots at a nearby high school; we also have to close one street, so we work in advance with the local businesses so that they can plan ahead and so that everyone benefits from our sports events." A shuttle from the parking area to the event also helps participants in the Summer Splash, a six-mile float down the Chattahoochee River in the Metro Atlanta area, said Kym Hughes, executive direc- tor for Sandy Springs, Ga., Hospitality and Tourism office. "Parking for the event is at Powers Island park, and participants, who can either bring their own canoes or kayaks or rent from local outfitters, are transported by a shuttle upriver to begin their trip." Finding an ideal location for a rowing event that also works well for spectators is a challenge, said AJ Dominique, events manager for US Rowing. "Many bodies of water struggle to provide both the ade- quate water space for a full six-lane, 2,000-meter course and the on-land space to accommodate the number of competi- tors that most of our national events Spectators were entertained by the feats of professional lumberjacks during the STIHL Timbersports Series held in Lake Charles, La. The event featured male and female participants from all over the world. www.sportseventsmagazine.com Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana CVB