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The Arnold Palmer Invitational will be held March 22-28. Don't miss out on the opportunity to witness the PGA Tour's finest compete on Arnold Palmer's recently renovated home course at Bay Hill. For more information check out their website.
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A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM SAM |
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Just this morning a sellout crowd of more than 320 people, including officials from all five Central Florida counties, attended the first-ever "Business of Sports" breakfast at the Orlando Hilton. Attendees listened to a panel comprised of leaders from the Orlando Magic, UCF, Florida Citrus Sports, ESPN/Disney Wide World of Sports and Sun Sports/Fox Sports. The speakers addressed a wide range of issues. They included Orlando's new Amway Center, ESPN's new branding strategy at Disney World and the future of college football in Central Florida. Be sure to click here to see footage from this morning's breakfast. 
In Lake County news, the always busy spring season is just around the corner for the Central Florida Sports Commission. Old friends and new partners will all be coming to Lake County in the next few months to stage some exciting events and championships.
Golf is the name of the game this spring, with a total of five (5) events taking place on the links between February and May. Our good friends from St. John's University in New York are headed back to the Mission Inn Resort & Club for their 1st Annual Men's and Women's Spring Fling Invitational. This is St. John's first trip to Lake County in the spring, after three seasons of hosting the Collegiate Classic Invitational in October. For some local flavor, both the Men's and Women's programs from UCF will be staging events at RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento. UCF's women's golf team will be hosting their first ever invitational with rookie head coach Courtney Trimble, while the Men are serving as co-hosts and defending champions of the Conference USA Golf Championship. The Mission Inn Resort will serve as the host venue for the last two (2) tournaments of the spring, those being the Atlantic 10 Men's Conference Golf Tournament and the NCAA Division III Women's Championship.
Of course, golf tournaments aren't the only events taking place in Lake County this spring. On March 7th, the National Training Center, Sports Commission and Lake County Department of Tourism and Business Relations will host the Florida's Great Escape Triathlon at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont. The race route perfectly encapsulates everything that is unique about the terrain of Lake County, and showcases to the world why the area has become a haven for endurance athletes. Once again, the race will serve as a qualifying race for the prestigious Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon that takes place each May in San Francisco, CA.
Lastly, this month we will be holding our first Lake County Community Advisory Board meeting of the New Year. Tuesday, February 23rd the Mission Inn Resort & Club will welcome the sports leaders of the county as we come together to discuss events, opportunities, challenges and ideas of improving the sports landscape. If you would like to attend the event or receive additional information, please contact Jon Baran at jbaran@centralfloridasports.org.
As you can see we have a very busy couple of months coming up in Lake County, and we look forward to sharing our successes with you in 2010. |
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Best Regards,
Sam Stark
President/CEO
Central Florida Sports Commission  |
| ECONOMIC IMPACT |
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Month of December 2009
- Hotel Room Nights - 1,439
- Tax Recovery - $13,493.88
- Economic Impact - $824,913
- Number of Participants -1,681
- Number of Spectators - 1,210
Year to Date (through December 2009)
- Hotel Room Nights - 8,003
- Tax Recovery - $87,862.73
- Economic Impact - $5,199,698,25
- Number of Participants - 12,622
- Number of Spectators - 13,938
- Number of Events - 20
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| WINS & LOSSES |
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(as of January 2010)
Formal Bids Submitted: 1
Total Bids Won: 1 (From a bid submitted in 2009)
Total Bids Lost: 0
The Sports Commission received great news this month. The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has awarded Lake County the right to host 2010 & 2011 Girls Softball State Championships. The event will be hosted at the National Training Center in Clermont on May 10 - 15. All six classifications (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A) will qualify teams to compete for state bragging rights at the event. |
| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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NTC NCAA Softball Spring Games February 22-April 2, 2010 National Training Center (Clermont)  www.ntcsoftball.com UCF Women's Golf Invitational February 28-March 2, 2010 RedTail Golf Club (Sorrento) www.ucfathletics.com Florida's Great Escape Triathlon March 7, 2010 Lake Louisa State Park (Clermont) www.usantc.com |
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| COMMUNITY PROFILE |
 With spring comes another season of marquee softball events at the Legends Way Ballfields at the National Training Center. Under the direction of Olympic Gold Medalist Dr. Dot Richardson, the softball fields at the NTC have quickly become a destination unto themselves in Lake County. Over Valentine's Day weekend, the complex hosted what may be the best collegiate field for any regular season tournament with the Dot Richardson National Collegiate Softball Invitational. While the tournament only featured eight teams, five of them are currently ranked in the NCAA top 25 for Division I programs.
While many facilities would rest after such a prestigious event, the NTC rolls right into the next major tournament with the NTC Spring Games, which will feature a rotating cast of teams playing in Clermont spanning over forty-days of competition. This almost unimaginable amount of games will once again showcase the best young stars in collegiate softball in Lake County.
For more information on the complex or on any of these exciting events, please visit www.ntcsoftball.com.
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