Tips from the Member Mentoring Committee - December 2009Tough Economic Times Can Improve Your Community PartnershipsBy: Jim Dietz, Director of Sports Tourism, Columbus, IN Area Visitors Center One of the widespread problems I frequently hear from fellow sports-tourism people throughout the country centers around the lack of cooperation with local schools and parks & recreation departments when attempting to secure venues in order to attract outside tournaments and events to your communities.
Quite frequently, the position many schools and parks and recreation departments have taken has been to keep their facilities for their own use and not allow outside organizations access to them or, if allowed, to charge rather unrealistic fees for the use of the facilities.
But in these tough economic times, when schools and city governments are scrambling for increased revenue, the door to expanded partnering is opening slowly. These organizations that have operated independently in the past are now “discovering” the value of partnering and expanding the usage of their facilities.
It makes little sense to have multi-million dollar school facilities sit idle for 6 to 9 months of the year or to have parks facilities sit idle on weekends. It is an economic success for the schools, the parks, the cities, the CVB’s and sports commissions to work together to put these idle facilities to use as profit centers for the community. Unlocking the gates of our sports venues during down times will send a strong message of profit potential to the community. Your business leaders will love you for adding to their bottom lines and your citizens will embrace you for being a good financial steward of community properties.
Facility usage fees help reduce operating budgets for the schools and parks, increased concession sales help further reduce operating budgets, increased venue inventory allows LOC’s to bring larger and more events to the community, and the community profits through the increased economic impact these outside events bring. The NASC Economic Impact Template, if used properly, can help you establish and strengthen your community partnerships by helping you show the value of outside events to the community.
Tough economic times can become the perfect time for your sports commission or CVB to provide your partners a solution to their budget woes. Show them how to raise their income without raising local taxes-it’s a win/win for your partners, your community and for you. About the Guest Contributor:
Jim served on the Board of Directors of the Columbus Area VisitorsCenter for seven years and as an officer for 3 of those years. Jimcurrently serves as Director of Sports Tourism for the CAVC andoversees over 50 annual athletic events in Columbus. Jim has beeninvolved in the hospitality industry for over 30 years having owned andoperated his own restaurants in Indiana and Illinois. A former highschool teacher and coach, he has also held management positions in aFortune 500 company and has served on numerous boards including theWestern Illinois University Foundation Board and the Western IllinoisUniversity Athletic Board.
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