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Featured Article |  |
Love sports? Believe in economic development? Want to have some fun? Sign up today to be a member of The Sports Club!
Sports, fun and value! As a member, you will enjoy some of the best sports events in town. In addition, you will be "in the know" when it comes to new events that come to our area. Packages include tickets to a wide range of sporting events, networking and business development opportunities, and the opportunity to be a part of many sporting events through ticket sales, pre-event functions, volunteering and more!
As an example of one of the networking opportunities, we will be co-hosting, with our partners at Florida Citrus Sports, a March Madness Happy Hour on March 24th at the new Dex Imaging Skyline Club located on the Club Suite level of the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. We will provide complimentary appetizers, Anheuser-Busch products, and Coca-Cola products. Entry is free for members and just $5 for non-members.
Click HERE for a complete list of Sports Club benefits. If you are interested in attending the March Madness Happy Hour as a guest, please click HERE. |
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A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM SAM | |
The spring rain showers are not the only thing coming to Seminole County this season, soccer, baseball and tennis will be making a splash as well!
Last weekend, US Club Soccer's Florida Cup made their way to Seminole County for the second time. On March 5th and 6th, Sylvan Lake Park and the Seminole Soccer Complex served as the host venues for the 2011 Florida Cup. This event drew approximately 80 youth soccer teams from across the State of Florida to Seminole County for two days of hard fought competition! This event serves as evidence of a great partnership that is continuing to pay dividends, and we are looking forward to making US Club Soccer a permanent fixture within Seminole County for future years.
For the second consecutive year, HOFBALL returns to Seminole County. Expanding on the successful tournament in 2010, this year HOFBALL will host two events featuring more than 25 high school baseball teams over two separate weeks. Headquartered at the Sanford Memorial Stadium, the Sunshine Classic will be held March 15-18 and the National Classic will be held April 18-21. We expect these events will generate nearly $1 million economic impact for Seminole County.
We are also busy working together with TEAM SEMINOLE to plan the multiple tennis events taking place in Seminole County this spring, beginning with the Sunshine State Tennis Championships April 13-16. The FHSAA Tennis Finals follow just behind, April 18-22, and the NCAA Division II Men's & Women's Tennis Championships will be hosted May 11-14.
Lastly, we are sad to report that our Seminole County Marketing & Events Manager, Jonathan Mousseau, is leaving the Sports Commission after two and a half years. We wish Jonathan the best of luck in his future career endeavors. We are currently reviewing resumes and hope to announce a new Seminole County Manager very soon.
As always, please do not hesitate to call should you have any questions and we look forward to partnering with TEAM SEMINOLE to generate more great sports activity in Seminole County. |
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Best Regards,
Sam Stark
President/CEO
Central Florida Sports Commission |
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IN THE PIPELINE |
The CFSC recently had a great meeting with the Seminole County Convention and Visitor's Bureau team to develop our 2011 business development plan for marketing Seminole County as the region's premier sports destination. Our overall plan will still be to aggressively market the county's marquee venues to those niche customers or sports that match up with our venues and hotels, while also exploring new unique opportunities well suited for Seminole County. Advertising campaigns and event Sports FAM (Familiarization) Tours were several of the many items up for discussion to hopefully strengthen our presence in the sports market place. In addition, the CFSC and CVB are working to determine the most beneficial conventions and tradeshows to attend in the coming year. We will keep everyone posted on the progress made to increase overall branding and new event opportunities for Seminole County.  Speaking of national conventions, the Sports Commission will be sending multiple staff to the 2011 National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) Sports Event Symposium in Greensboro, North Carolina on April 11 - 15. This annual conference will provide a great opportunity for the Sports Commission to network with multiple event organizers and identify new event opportunities for hotels and sports venues within Seminole County. A short list of targeted event organizers that we expect to be in attendance include the NCAA, US Lacrosse, AAU, Triple Crown Sports and Youth Basketball of America; just to name a few.
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| |  WINS & LOSSES |
(As of February, 2011)
Formal Bids Submitted: 1
Total Bids Won: 0
Total Bids Lost: 1
As we mentioned last month' impact report, the CFSC and SCCVB recently submitted a proposal for a multi-year contract with Elite Club National Leagues to hold their Winter Showcase in Seminole County. The event organizer and SCCVB and CFSC have been engaged in ongoing discussions and we hope to have good news for everyone in the coming weeks. Keep your finger crossed!
In addition, we have been in touch with Atlantic 10 to again look at the possibility to host either the Men's or Women's Tennis Championships in Altamonte Springs. The event(s) would be staged at Sanlando Park in either the 2nd or 3rd weekend in April of 2012. Approximately 300 + room nights would be generated from either the Men's or Women's Championship.
In other news, we are sad to report that USA Rugby will not be returning to Seminole County this coming spring. USA Rugby elected to shrink the number of teams that would be competing in the collegiate playoffs by adding additional locations, thus causing the Sports Commission to have to look at hosting the event at Sylvan Lake Park. Our original plan was to stage the event at the Seminole Soccer Complex but to rent the entire facility for only 16 teams (down from 40+) was not cost effective. Unfortunately, Sylvan Lake Park was not able to accommodate the event this year due to prior bookings. Should USA Rugby elect to go back to the original format of 40+ teams for future years, we will be sure to bid for the event on behalf of Seminole County. |
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| UPCOMING EVENTS | |
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| COMMUNITY PROFILE | |
F.I.T. Sports
Over 1,500 homeless children who live in Seminole County will not be able to participate in sports. The FIT Sports program is dedicated to providing these children the opportunity to play organized sports and participate in after school recreational opportunities at no cost to the individual or their family. It is their goal to work together as a community to develop and implement successful fundraising events and initiatives to help pay for these children's registration fees, sports equipment, and transportation if necessary.
Every child deserves a chance to play, and with your help we will be one step closer to making this dream a reality. For more information on the F.I.T. Sports Program please contact Danny Trosset at the Seminole County CVB. Dtrosset@seminolecountyfl.gov
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