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Featured Article | |
For the 19th consecutive year, the Celebrity Mascot Games will bring mascots from the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and NCAA to the new Amway Center for two exciting shows. This year's event will be on July 29th and 30th. Stuff, Knightro, Albert and 27 of their furry friends will battle in a series of wacky games to determine the ultimate champions of the mascot world.
Tickets are only $10 for general admission and $16 for a reserved seat. For special ticket offers and more information visit www.mascotgames.org. Click HERE and you can follow all of the craziness on our Facebook page.
Proceeds from the Celebrity Mascot Games benefit New Hope for Kids, an Orlando based not-for-profit organization. New Hope for Kids grants wishes to children under the age of 18 who are suffering from life-threatening illness and provides grief support for children who have lost a family member. In addition, since the first Mascot Games in 1992, this event raised nearly $300,000 for New Hope for Kids.
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A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM SAM | |
Hurricane season began June 1; make sure you are prepared for the season!
May brought with it the NCAA Tennis National Championships and some fantastic tennis. In what has become the norm, the facilities and hotels were raved about by NCAA committee, staff, coaches, and athletes. The hard work and dedication of the Seminole County Parks and Recreation staff is truly appreciated and contributed to the successes of all the spring sports championships.
The spring sports season was a busy time for the Central Florida Sports Commission and the staff worked long and hard to achieve the success that has brought the many events that were hosted throughout Seminole County. Due to the great work of Team Seminole, Seminole County continues to be a hot spot for sporting events. Capitalizing on that success has enabled Seminole County to become an even larger player in driving economic impact through sports.
 As we look towards the summer, the Sports Commission and Team Seminole continue planning for the United States Amateur Soccer Association (USASA) Veteran's Cup Soccer Tournament. Being held at Sylvan Lake Park and Seminole Soccer Club July 5-10, this prestigious event will bring more than 60 teams from across the world to Seminole County for an exciting week of competition and camaraderie.
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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ECONOMIC IMPACT |
Month of April, 2011 Hotel Room Nights: 1,843 Tax Recovery: $18,077.87 Economic Impact: $973,357.88 Number of Participants: 1,128 Number of Spectators: 893 Number of Events: 3 Year to Date (through April 2011) Hotel Room Nights: 2,629 Tax Recovery: $26,793.98 Economic Impact: $1,450,387.88 Number of Participants: 1,939 Number of Spectators: 2,065 Number of Events: 5 |
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IN THE PIPELINE |
On the business development front, the Sports Commission recently conducted meetings at the Sports Commission office with ISOL Events with respect to developing a long term event partnership ISOL Events currently is working to provide venue and hotel assistance for several national event organizations, those being USA Volleyball, USA Team Handball, USA Fencing and USA Triathlon. Other potential event partners they are currently courting including USA Archery, Ultimate Frisbee and National Softball Association, just to name a few. During our meetings, we were able to review our inventory of hotel and venue options that reside in Seminole County. Our discussions are still very preliminary, but we hope that they will lead to a long term partnership that finds us hosting multiple sports events and/or meetings on annualized basis in Seminole County. In addition, the Sports Commission, in partnership with the Seminole County CVB, will be attending the 2011 NACDA Convention (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) which will be held at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando in June. This conference brings together collegiate athletic directors and other administrative staff & coaches from across the United States for educational and networking seminars and meetings. This convention will provide the Sports Commission and Seminole County CVB the opportunity to showcase Seminole County venues for future event and team training opportunities. Lastly, the Sports Commission and Seminole County CVB are taking an in-depth look at several Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) National Tournaments to be held in 2013. Multiple youth and adult events, both fast pitch and slow pitch, are up for bid for various dates throughout 2013. Multiple venues would be under consideration for potentially hosting these National Tournaments, ranging from the Seminole County Softball Complex to Merrill Park in Altamonte Springs. The bid deadline for us to submit a proposal is August 1st, so stay tuned. |
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| |  WINS & LOSSES |
(As of May, 2011)
Formal Bids Submitted: 2
Total Bids Won: 1
Total Bids Lost: 0
The CFSC and the Seminole County have recently been in discussions with United Soccer Academy about hosting several youth soccer tournaments in Seminole County in 2012. Three (3) opportunities are under consideration for next year, those being a youth created in March (to replace the Florida Cup), a created youth event for next July and the Nike Champions Cup. The Florida Cup is relocating to South Florida based on a diminishing amount of participating teams, so the United Soccer Academy has agreed in principal to create new events in March and July of next year that would attract teams from across the State of Florida (and beyond) to Sanford. The Nike Champions Cup, which originally began as boys/girls club invitational event based out of Apopka, has grown exponentially since its first year. Based on the projected growth of the tournament, there is a chance that a majority of the competition might now take place in Seminole County at both Sylvan Lake Park and the Seminole County Soccer Complex. All three (3) opportunities are still under discussion, so we hope to be able to provide more details on each in future impact reports. |
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| UPCOMING EVENTS | |
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| COMMUNITY PROFILE | |
Seminole County has always had a strong tennis base and a $100,000 grant from the USTA will only help continue that trend. This time, the focus is on kids 10 and under and increasing their interest in tennis. The USTA has launched a nationwide campaign to give away $2 million in grants over the next three years to 20 areas across the country, including Seminole County according to a report by Jessica J. Saggio in the Seminole Chronicle.
An excerpt from the article: "The national USTA invested $50,000 in Seminole County, an amount that was matched with another $50,000 from USTA Florida for the county's commitment to the game, said Andy McFarland, associate executive director of the USTA Florida. Because Seminole County has facilities at Red Bug Lake Park, Sanlando Park and Sylvan Lake Park all with accompanying tennis programs, the USTA chose the county to reap the benefits of its hefty investment, he said."
To read the full article click HERE. |
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