Grand Island got a $1 million boost from hosting the National 4-H Shooting Sports Competition last June, and state volleyball is yet to come, as are the 7-on-7 football championships.
“Every event brings new money into the community,” said Renee Seifert, Grand Island/Hall County Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director.
Members of the Greater Grand Island Sports Council, a subsidiary of the bureau, will speak on Tuesday night to the Grand Island City Council about the impact of sports marketing.
The presentation will be part of a 7 p.m. study session at Grand Island City Hall, 100 E. First St.
“We’ve seen it continue to grow. It’s not been adversely affected by economic conditions,” sports council Chairman Brian Gallagher said of sports marketing.
“We have successfully recruited, organized and hosted a number of sporting events, providing our area with direct economic benefits through increased motel occupancy, patronage of restaurants and other travel-related income,” he said.
“Due to our success, we are now being asked to host larger and more prestigious events, including the recently announced decision to award Grand Island and Hastings with the 2010 and 2011 NSAA State Volleyball Championships,” Gallagher said.
The volleyball championships had 37,000 paid admissions over the three-day competition last year, Seifert said. That’s expected to provide a significant boost to the local economy.
“It’s retail, food, lodging — motel rooms and campgrounds — gas, visiting other recreational attractions,” Seifert said. “It’s basically everybody in town.”
The same kind of boost was seen during the National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational last year, she said.
The three-day shooting competition last June had 428 competitors from 29 states. But coming with those competitors were family, friends and coaches.
The result was about 1,600 visitors during the shooting event that contributed just more than $1 million to the local economy, Seifert said.
Gallagher said the sports marketing industry covers everything from traveling baseball, basketball, softball and volleyball teams to high school, collegiate and other special events.
Grand Island has quality facilities that can host a wide variety of events — horse shows, shooting, bowling, golf, wrestling, soccer, softball and even water dog trials, just to name a few, Seifert and Gallagher said.
“We just feel with the centralized location we have and the quality of facilities we have … we have something to offer,” Gallagher said.