An Indiana (USA) city is using sports tourism as a way to draw visitors and pump money into the local economy

FORT WAYNE, IN --- The City of Fort Wayne is increasingly using sports tourism as a way to draw visitors and pump money into the local economy.

A new economic development tool seems to be helping the city get its foot in the door to host events.

The old adage, "You have to spend money to make money" has application in Fort Wayne's pursuit of becoming a player in the sports tourism arena.

The city is still riding high from the announcement this spring that Fort Wayne secured the right to host the IHSAA girls’ basketball state finals at the Memorial Coliseum.

Just this week, the city revealed seven Big Ten soccer teams are coming to town next year for pre-season matches and youth clinics.

A 40-thousand dollar Community Economic Development Income Tax or “CEDIT” Grant created by Mayor Tom Henry, called the Sports Business Development Grant, was instrumental in helping with hosting fees, start-up costs and other promotional expenses.

Art Saltsberg/Ft. Wayne Sports Corporation: " These sports development grants that now exist, that was the city's doing. In a time when municipalities can't come up with money for much of anything, it was great the city came up with these funds to help us attract events here."

The city is also highlighting its new downtown minor league baseball park and anticipates the opening of a new ice arena to host hockey tournaments.

They are venues that promise to draw more sports enthusiasts looking to spend money in the community.

Source: Indiana's NewsCenter

Real Madrid recruits seen drawing more Asian tourists to Spain

MADRID (AFP) — Real Madrid's recruitment of star players like Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazil's Kaka will lead to an increase in visitors from Asia to Spain, a tourism trade body predicted.

Juan Melian, the head of the Tourism Panel which groups about 30 major tourism-related companies, said the arrival of players "with an extraordinary media impact in the Asian market would boost the appeal of Madrid and the rest of the country as a holiday destination to thousands of football fans."

"Sports serves as a great promotional showcase for any country," he added in a statement.

Last month Real signed C. Ronaldo from Manchester United for a record of around 94 million euros and Kaka from AC Milan for 65 million euros as the Spanish giants returned to the era of the "galacticos" or "superstars".

Club president Florentino Perez, who was restored at the helm of Real in June elections, was also responsible for a similar policy from 2000-2006 and is splashing the cash again to restore the team's fortunes.

During his first stint at the club Perez signed Portugal's Luis Figo, England's David Beckham, France's Zinedine Zidane and Brazil's Ronaldo who drew large crowds during the tours of Asia which Real carried out during the period.

The museum at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium with its trophy room where all the club's championship cups are displayed is one of the Spanish capital's key attractions.

About 700,000 people visit the museum each year, according to Real.

Melian also predicted that the role which Spanish forward Pau Gasol played in helping the Los Angeles Lakers win the NBA championship this season would help increase the number of visitors to Spain from the United States.

Spain has slipped to third place in the ranking of most-visited countries in the world, behind the United States and France, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation.

The country received 57.4 million tourists in 2008, a 2.6 percent decline over the previous year and the first fall in over a decade, according to national statistics institute INE.

Europe accounts for the bulk of all visitors to Spain. The tourism sector accounts for about 11 percent of the country's jobs and gross domestic product.

Source: AFP

Italy looks forward to Baseball World Cup in September

On his way back from the G8 in the city of Aquila, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Italy Franco Frattini stopped Tuesday at Villa Madama and delivered the World Cup of Baseball to the Mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno during a press conference.

“Rome will host the headquarters of the tournament and will support the organizers in many ways” said Alemanno “As you know, some of the most important games of this World Cup will be played in Nettuno, including the final on September 27th. So, this is a tournament that will give visibility to the whole metropolitan area of Rome”.

The Province of Rome will promote the event in New York later in July.

“Actually” explained Patrizia Prestipino, the Deputy for Sport and Tourism of the Province of Rome “We expect a relevant presence of incoming tourists from the USA. We believe our beaches have a lot of potential and of course there’s the tourism linked to the memory of those who lost their life in this area during World War 2. Their sacrifice has always been a very strong link between Nettuno and the United States of America”.

During the Press Conference the Minister of the Environment Stefania Prestigiacomo has announced that the organizers of the Italian part of the World Cup have obtained the status of Green Event from the European Union and that the event has also been certified according to the regulation ISO 14001.

“We took pretty seriously the directives of the International Federation” said Prestigiacomo “And we are proud to say that we are ready to have an event that will respect environment in every part of its organization”.

The President of the Organizing Committee of the Italian part of the tournament Mauro Miccio also explained that a series of movies inspired to baseball will be distributed before and during the World Cup in schools of the cities that are hosting the tournament and that Rome will host in the San Michele complex and exhibition dedicated to Diamonds.

Italian Federation President Riccardo Fraccari announced that ticket sales will be launched in the next few days: “We are all impressed by what the organizing committee have accomplished, hopefully we will make everybody happy on the field”.

The World Cup will give a chance to the Embassies of the countries participating in the tournament to organize slow pitch softball teams and compete in their own tournament.

Source: Mister Baseball

2010 Euroleague Final Four host is Paris

The best teams in European club basketball will compete for a continental title next season in one of the world's emblematic capitals of sport and culture - Paris. The Euroleague has announced that the French capital will be the host city of the 2010 Final Four, from Friday, May 7 to Sunday, May 9. The games to crown the 2009-10 champion will be played at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, an iconic venue in European sports history.

The announcement was made during the first event of the new 2009-10 season, the Euroleague Draw, held in Barcelona on Wednesday. The choice of Paris follows last year’s successful Final Four at the O2 World in Berlin and continues the long-term agreement between the Euroleague and the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to partner on a wide range of basketball-related programming, presentation and development initiatives. It also marks the start of close cooperation with the French Basketball Federation and the Ligue Nationale de Basket of France, to make Europe's most important club basketball event another shining success in the City of Light.

"At the turn of a new decade, the Euroleague is delighted to be taking one of the biggest events in the world of sports to a city that needs no introduction as a spectacular setting for great entertainment," Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu said. "Paris has been a cradle of great basketball in Europe for a long time and understands how to showcase our sport. We are sure the fans in France will be thrilled to see the Euroleague's finest teams compete, just as fans from around Europe and beyond will be excited to witness a one-of-a-kind event in such a unique city."

Indeed, for the first time ever, fans can already register through the Euroleague's official website, www.euroleague.net, to receive exclusive access to 2010 Final Four tickets before they are made available to the general public.

Paris joins an all-star list of Final Four host cities this decade that has included such world-class destinations as Berlin, the 2009 host, Madrid 2008, Athens 2007, Prague 2006, Moscow 2005, Tel Aviv 2004, Barcelona 2003 and Bologna 2002. Because it has no Euroleague home team, Paris will become the fourth Final Four host in the last five years to offer a neutral court for the crowning of a new Euroleague champion.

Bercy has been the scene of much European basketball history since it opened in 1984. It has hosted three previous Final Four continental club championships - in 1991, 1996 and 2001 - as well as the 1999 European Championships for national teams, numerous French League Finals and French Federation tournaments.

In addition to the games themselves, which bring the best four teams from the Euroleague season together to decide a champion, the Final Four also features the annual Nike International Junior Tournament and other parallel events. Paris won the right to host the 2010 Final Four amid widespread interest from other major cities.

Source: Euroleague.net

Sports tour operator suing Vancouver Olympics organizing committee

A Winnipeg-based luxury sports tour operator is suing the Vancouver Olympics organizing committee -- in response to a suit the Game's organizers filed against it.

Roadtrips Inc. has found itself embroiled in a bid by the Vancouver organizing committee (VANOC) to stop the re-selling of tickets to Olympic events.

Roadtrips, which has been in business for 17 years, specializes in luxury tour packages to premier sporting events and luxury accommodations.

At the end of May, VANOC -- the name of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics organizing committee -- filed a suit against Roadtrips, alleging its tour packages include tickets to the Games that they don't have a legal right to sell.

Roadtrips fired back, naming VANOC and its official ticket package provider, Jet Set Sports, and ticket management company, Tickets.com, alleging they are conspiring against Roadtrips to keep it out of the lucrative Olympic ticket resale market.

"We think we have a strong position," David Guenther, Roadtrips president, said.

Roadtrips is selling tour packages to the Vancouver Games that start at $4,675, which includes a four-night stay at a luxury hotel, and tickets for two to three events.

The Roadtrips website (www.roadtrips.com) is also offering tour packages to the 2012 Summer Games, the 2010 World Cup of Soccer in South Africa, the Europe League Final and the Champions League Final.

VANOC alleges that Roadtrips isn't authorized to sell tickets to the Games and that the re-sale of the tickets by anyone else is a violation of the sales agreement with VANOC.

"Legal action is always the last resort for us," a spokesman for VANOC said, adding it would not comment on the dispute while it remains before the courts.

Guenther issued a statement to the media at the end of May when his company was first served with the lawsuit, explaining that it's doing nothing illegal.

"It is Roadtrips' position that it is perfectly legal and established common practice to sell sports travel packages and that this activity is different than the simple re-sale of event tickets; which is also legal in most parts of Canada and the United States.

"By its actions, VANOC is just trying to maintain the monopoly on ticket distribution and travel package sales that is has sold to its U.S. based agent," the statement read.

Roadtrips lawsuit alleges that the exclusive agreements VANOC has with other tour providers are illegal.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Guenther said 85 per cent of his firm's clients are from outside Canada, with many of them from the United States.

Source: Winnipeg Free Press (With files from The Canadian Press)

Progress is slow on the Dubailand dream

The proposed merger between Emaar Properties, Dubai Properties, Sama Dubai and Tatweer has called into question the fate of Dubailand, Dubai’s biggest planned tourist attraction.

Launched in late 2003, Dubailand, which Tatweer is developing, was billed as the Disneyland of the Middle East, only it was to be spread over a sprawling 3 billion square feet (27,870 hectares), making it bigger than the city of Orlando in Florida, the home of its US inspiration.

According to the Dubailand website, the development will have a population of 2.5 million people, including tourists, workers and residents. It also expects 40,000 visitors a day.

But almost six years on, while parts of phase one of Dubailand are ready, progress on the rest of the development, which is scheduled to be delivered in phases up to 2020, has been slow.

As it stands, Dubailand is a far cry from the vibrant colours, playful cartoon characters, thrilling rides and bustling activity of Disneyland. Most of Dubailand exists only on the drawing board. In reality, much of it is an empty landscape.

In the most bustling sector under development, there are construction workers and vehicles, a building with a giant skier coming off the roof, and a six-storey-high model of a red-and-white rocket.

The pace of development has been hit by the global slowdown in travel, falling property prices and tighter finance, forcing Tatweer to review the project last December.

Details of that review are yet to be revealed, although Tatweer said in a recent statement there had been no change in its vision for Dubailand. Its masterplan includes 45 theme-based projects including amusement parks, hotel complexes and leisure facilities.

Five attractions have opened: Dubai Autodrome, Dubai Outlet Mall, Global Village, Jumana Secret of the Desert and Dubai Sports City.

Dubailand is an essential part of Dubai’s aim to attract 15 million visitors a year by 2015, up from 7.5 million last year. The attractions planned at the development would play a vital role in broadening the appeal of the emirate, particularly as a leisure destination for families, according to Alex Kyriakidis, the global managing partner at Deloitte Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure.

“Dubai definitely needs a destination theme park, of the magnitude that a Universal Studios could bring, to be able to market itself to wider niches,” he says.
The marketing director at Tiger Woods Dubai, Liz Riemersma, declined to comment on the impact of the Emaar merger on the project, but said the recent comment that the project was “progressing” still applied.

The multimillion-dirham Tiger Woods development is supposed to be one of the centrepiece projects of Dubailand, with plans for 22 palaces, 100 luxury villas, a 33,445 square metre hotel and 75 mansions.

But the US golfer said last month the golf-themed project had been delayed by at least six months.

Full story: The National
More info: Dubai Sports City

Collier County (South Florida, USA) attracting sporting events more than ever

In the tourism game, sports marketing is scoring big in Collier County (South Florida, USA).

More sports events are coming to the area, filling hotel rooms and generating business for restaurants, shops and attractions. The last three years have brought tremendous growth with a greater focus on luring tournaments, races and other competitions to the county.

Behind the effort is the Sports Council of Collier County, a nonprofit that works in partnership with hoteliers, the Collier County Parks and Recreation Department and the county’s tourism bureau.

A big chunk of the money for sports marketing comes from a small slice of the tourist tax — a 4 percent tax charged on all hotel rooms and other short-term rentals in the county. Hoteliers also kick in money, along with support from the county and other businesses.

The Sports Council is headed up by Ralph Pryor, 64, who describes himself as the “lone ranger.” There are no other paid employees at the council. There’s no budget for it.

“It’s like a one-person show right now being the sports marketing coordinator,” said Pryor, who has been at the job since the full-time position was created nearly three years ago.

Sports tourism continues to grow. It’s helping to make up for a general slowdown in the industry, and in particular a drop in the group/meetings business in Collier County.

“Very rarely do recessions affect sports travel,” said Pryor, who has been involved with athletic events for 40 years.

“Some prognosticators have gone out on a limb and called this business recession-proof.”

Full story: Naples Daily News

Concern over London 2012 legacy - report

More needs to be done if the London 2012 Olympics are to leave the legacy promised when the city was chosen as Games host, a London Assembly committee said on Wednesday.

Organisers are falling short on delivering employment targets, tourism strategy and sports participation, the assembly's Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee said in a report.

"The promise of a legacy was a significant factor in London winning the bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Urban and social regeneration, and increased sports participation, were to be the hallmarks of these Games," said Dee Doocey, chair of the committee.

"Some aspects are on track, but there are still areas that need more attention to deliver the promises that were made."

The report praised the clean-up of the former industrial site in Stratford, east London, where the Olympic Park is being built, and its green credentials, but said other aspects were of concern.

These included the failure to address gaps in the provision of sports facilities, especially for young people with disabilities.

The overall vision for the tourism strategy lacked detail and lacked funds, the report added.

It also said only 112 local unemployed workers had found work on the construction site, though it did recognise the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) had met its target of employing between 10 percent and 15 percent of the workforce from the five Olympic boroughs.

It recommended giving residents free or discounted access to sporting activities, and more jobs for local people.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, should develop a more effective tourism strategy, including better low budget accommodation and fair prices.

Source: Guardian.co.uk