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The Orlando Magic will first reveal the new state-of-the-art Amway Center during their regular season opener on October 28th against the Washington Wizards. The following night the rivalry in the Sunshine State will heat up as the Magic travel to compete against the reconfigured Miami Heat on October 29th. For a complete schedule and ticket information, visit www.orlandomagic.com. Be Magic!
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A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM SAM
With the summer event season coming to an end, we here at the Sports Commission are anxious for the return of fall. From the start of the college football season to the Magic's first home game at the new Amway Center, it will be an exciting time for sports here in Central Florida. This last month found the Central Florida Sports Commission hosting our annual family showcase event at the Amway Arena, while still focusing on our fall schedule of sports events in both Orlando and Orange County.
First, the Sports Commission hosted the 18th Annual Celebrity
Mascot Games at the Amway Arena on Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17. Nearly 30 mascots from the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and NCAA returned to Amway Arena to entertain thousands of Central Florida families, with proceeds benefiting New Hope for Kids, a wish-granting organization for children with life-threatening illness. Nearly 15,000 spectators had a chance to see their favorite mascots up and close in personal at one of the two (2) matinee shows. In fact, for the very first time, audience members had the opportunity to win their team points by participating in inflatable hamster balls, while trying to score against opposing mascots in the action packed game, Altrasphere! Click on the Mascot Games logo to watch mascot craziness from this year!
 In other event news, we are pleased to report that the recent AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships held in mid June was a tremendous success. Staged at both the ESPN Wide of Sports Complex and the Orange County Convention Center, this event attracted over 1,151 youth volleyball teams from across the United States to our community. This is up from 630 teams from 2009. Based on our projections, this event generated approximately 50,000 room nights for the region. This was an extremely important piece of business to retain, and we are proud to have played an important role (in partnership with Disney Sports and the Convention Center) in bringing the AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships back to Central Florida. In fact, we are already in the process of setting up meetings with the AAU to confirm the event for next summer, so stay tuned!
As we look towards the fall, the Central Florida Sports Commission is proud to announce the return of the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The Amway Center will serve as the future home to the Hall of Fame with a new state of the art display area. We expect this year's event to take place in November. We hope to share more details with you in future impact reports!
Have a great August!
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Best Regards,
Sam Stark
President/CEO
Central Florida Sports Commission |
| ECONOMIC IMPACT |
Month of June, 2010
Hotel Room Nights: 50,221
Tax Recovery: $433,478.66
Economic Impact: $26,745,009
Number of Participants: 18,416
Number of Spectators: 20,718
Number of Events: 1
Year to Date (through June of 2010)
Hotel Room Nights: 60,144
Tax Recovery: $534,449.82
Economic Impact: $31,944,350.25
Number of Participants: 20,031
Number of Spectators: 34,103
Number of Events: 7
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| IN THE PIPELINE |
As mentioned in last month's impact report, the Sports Commission, in partnership with the Orlando/Orange County CVB, have been in discussions with the MEAC Conference regarding the opportunity to host the 2012 - 2014 Men's & Women's Basketball Tournament. Earmarked for the new Amway Center, the event has previously drawn close to 40,000 spectators throughout the tournament week, with additional events taking place such as cheerleading exhibitions, fashion shows, greek step shows and much more. Based on our diligence, the event would generate approximately 3,500+ room nights for our region. We are still evaluating the Request for Proposal (RFP) and should we move forward with a proposal, our bid would be due to their office by the end of August. Stay tuned for more information on this opportunity.
Other event opportunities being evaluated by the Sports Commission include multiple national and/or regional events with USA Volleyball, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), along with a national conference/tradeshow with USA Track & Field.
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| WINS & LOSSES
(As of July, 2010) | |
Formal Bids Submitted: 4
Total Bids Won: 1
Total Bids Lost: 1
The Sports Commission recently submitted a bid for the opportunity to host the 2011 USA Team Handball Club Nationals. The event would be staged in mid May of next year at the Orange County Convention Center. Over 1,000 athletes, coaches, officials and spectators would be in attendance at this four (4) day competition. USA Team Handball plans to make a decision within the next month, so stay tuned!
 In other news, it appears the Sports Commission will not be able to pursue the 2011 National Leagues All Star Game, which was originally targeted for spring of 2011 at the new Amway Center. With the Orlando Titans in the midst of a re-organization, we felt it was in our best interest to table this opportunity until possibly 2012. We wish the Titans organization the very best, and look forward to their return in the near future. |
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| COMMUNITY PROFILE |
The Orlando Inner City Baseball Revival reached a milestone this summer! Several members of Jones High School Baseball team played on the Weeks II Success Baseball Team that recently made their way to Greensboro, North Carolina to compete in the Black Little League World Series. Their trip to North Carolina was successful, but this marks only the beginning of the community revival effort for youth baseball within Central Florida.
Weeks II Success Youth Leadership Baseball Program has partnered with After School All-Stars, the City of Orlando Parks and Recreation and the Florida Collegiate Summer League to offer baseball programs to several inner city schools this summer and coming fall. The programs will include skills training and development not only in baseball, but academics as well. To get involved with this great community wide initiative, please contact them at wsm23@earthlink.net.
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Orlando Science Center
UCF Softball Complex
BrightHouse Stadium
