This past week we were back in Wisconsin to present at their annual tourism conference. This year’s event was being held in the Fox Cities, an area we have been working with for over a decade. The initial sports tourism strategic plan we produced for them in 2013 had a facility piece in it that, due to their leadership’s great work and tenacity, became a reality. So as part of the programming for their tourism event, rather than have a traditional breakout or panel discussion on sports tourism, we decided to take a little road trip.
With the help of the event’s organizers, we piled 20-plus people onto a bus and we drove to the Community First Bank Champion Center. The Champion Center is a top-shelf tourism driving venue that was paid for with hotel tax revenue to drive additional bed tax collections and economic impact for the destination. The facility’s floorplan, designed to maximize functionality and visitor experience, is detailed below. As the bus made its way to the facility, Matt Ten Haken (their Director of Sports Development) and I shared the story of how the Champion Center came about. From the original concept to multiple follow-up studies, through the politics of a bed tax increase to groundbreaking, and eventually to the five year anniversary of its opening. It was a great discussion with a lot of engaged people that want to do something similar for the communities they serve.
After reflecting on the mini field trip and the questions that were asked, I thought to myself, what were the key elements to this facility journey? Which of those elements would be every bit as important in Anytown USA as they were in Wisconsin? Here are three thoughts…..
One, do your research. Make sure you visit best-in-class facilities during your visioning process and talk to the user groups and operators of those venues. Take the best pieces of each facility you see and incorporate them into your plan like the Fox Cities leadership team did.
Two, use as much data as possible. Do multiple studies to verify the pathway you are on. Use participation data for the sports your proposed venue is meant to serve. Interview as many potential user groups as possible to get a sense of local demand beyond the tournament hosting side of the ledger.
Three, make sure if you invest tourism resources (money) into a facility, that there is a memo of understanding (MOU) that specifically maps out what dates and at what rates the sports commission or CVB/DMO can book the venue. If tourism dollars go into a project, it has to generate additional tourism dollars to replenish the funds that have been invested.
There are dozens of additional items we could have put on this list, however these are the ones that pop up on nearly every sports tourism related facility project we touch.
Do your homework. Lean on the data. Make sure your investments are protected on paper.
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