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The game will kick-off at 3pm this Saturday, January 23 at the Florida Citrus Bowl. The East-West Shrine Game is the oldest and one of the most respected of the post-season collegiate all-star games, raising funds for Shriners Hospitals for Children. Get your tickets now!
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| A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM SAM
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Happy New Year from the Central Florida Sports Commission! We hope that your holiday was full of family, friends and great memories. 2009 was a remarkable year for sports in Osceola County, and the month of December continued this trend as one of the largest youth football and cheer events returned to our community.
As you can see, the Sports Commission has a new look! We are pleased to share our new logo, new email and new way of sharing important information with you. We continue to make changes to stay ahead of the game and we welcome your input.
First, the Sports Commission and the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau welcomed back the Under Armour American Youth Football & Cheer Championships to Osceola County in early December. This year's event brought in over 120 youth football teams to Austin Tindall Park for a week's worth of hard hitting competition. In addition to the football competition, nearly 100 cheerleading teams stayed in Osceola County in conjunction with the National Cheerleading Championships.
Next, coming up in January, we have a full calendar of multiple returning events. On January 9-10 we welcomed back Soccer Six with their Annual Blizzard Blast Tournament. This 6 on 6 Soccer Tournament was held at Austin Tindall Park and returned to Osceola County for the 12th consecutive year. On January 15th - 17th, the United States Flag & Touch Football League's National Championship returned to Austin Tindall Regional Park for the 13th year in a row. Finally, on January 16th Rocky Mountain Nationals returned to the Silver Spurs Arena to hold their Games of Rome Wrestling Tournament. These three (3) events are expected to attract over 10,000 + competitors, coaches and spectators from across the United States to Osceola County.
Thank you for your continued support as we continue to market Osceola County as the "Ultimate Sports Destination." |
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Best Regards,
Sam Stark
President/CEO
Central Florida Sports Commission |
| ECONOMIC IMPACT |
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Month of November, 2009
- Hotel Room Nights - 5,211
- Tax Recovery - $42,368.16
- Economic Impact - $2,178763.50
- Number of Participants -1,637
- Number of Spectators - 1,891
Year to Date (through November, 2009)
- Hotel Room Nights - 31,390
- Tax Recovery - $345,071.57
- Economic Impact - $22,059,161.63
- Number of Participants - 16,824
- Number of Spectators - 14,275
- Number of Events - 14
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| IN THE PIPELINE |
| On the business development front, the Sports Commission recently participated in two (2) site visits with USA Volleyball Florida and USA Team Handball. Both organizations are looking at potentially hosting multiple events in Osceola County, primarily at Osceola Heritage Park. Additional opportunities are currently being evaluated by the Sports Commission include BASS Elite and Open Fishing Tournaments, USA Wrestling National Meets and NCAA Regional and National Championships. |
| WINS & LOSSES
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- Bids Submitted - 12
- Wins - 7
- Losses - 4
The Sports Commission learned in November that we were not awarded the right to host the 2010 and 2011 ASICS USAW Greco Roman and Freestyle National Championships. USA Wrestling elected to keep the event in Orem, Utah for two (2) additional years, but is interested in considering Osceola Heritage Park for the same event in 2012 and 2013. |
| UPCOMING EVENTS
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| Rebel Spring Games
FAWA Folkstyle
World Class Lacrosse
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| COMMUNITY PROFILE |
It's that time of the year once again - MLB spring training is back in full force. Fans from all over the world head out to their favorite spring training facilities to get a chance to see their team heroes, and the future heroes-to-be all getting their arms warmed up and bats swinging for the new season. The Osceola County Stadium has been the Spring Training Home for the Houston Astros since 1985 and international headquarters for the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) since 2004. Every year, this Central Florida facility also hosts numerous other baseball events including: youth instructional camps, umpire schools, adult fantasy camps, amateur tournaments, commercial shoots, and corporate functions.
The Houston Astros will be making their way back to the Osceola Baseball Complex for their home opener against the Washington Nationals Thursday march 4th. Tickets go on sale the twenty-third of January so get them while you can and we'll see you out this season!
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