Featured Article
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The Central Florida Sports Commission is proud to announce we will host a neutral site women's basketball game between the University of Florida and Rutgers December 2nd at 8 pm at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center.
The game will be televised on Fox Sports-Florida and is sure to be an event that the entire family can enjoy. Prior to the main event, we have arranged for the reigning High School Girls Basketball State Champions of Dr. Phillips to take on Palm Beach County Dwyer at 4 pm at the Ocean Center.
Tickets for the games are only $8 (per game) and can be purchased at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center Box Office or through our office by clicking HERE.
Go Gators!
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KEEP UP WITH US!
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A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM BRENT | |
We hope this month's Community Sports Report finds you doing well and looking forward to the upcoming holidays. Here at Sports Commission office, the past month found our team preparing for some upcoming events while working to identify and attract some exciting new sports related events and activities to Central Florida.
Kicking off in December, the FHSAA Football Finals are back at the Florida Citrus Bowl. 2011 marks the first year of a new three year contract that will keep the Football Finals in Orlando through 2013. Check out the Road to Orlando section below for more information, and learn how to purchase reserved seat tickets for the first time ever at the FHSAA Football Finals.
 Throughout the community, there is no shortage of first class sporting events to fill your weekends. If college basketball is your liking, head down to Disney World this week for the Old Spice Classic. Eight teams from across the country compete for the Old Spice title at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex November 24, 25 & 27. And next week a Monday night basketball showdown between Florida and Stetson will tip off at the Amway Center in the 2nd annual Florida Citrus Sports Shootout. Tickets are still available so click HERE for more information.
 Over the last month the Sports Commission sent representation to Colorado Springs, Colorado and Las Vegas, Nevada to network with national event organizers such as USA Gymnastics, USA Figure Skating, USA Karate, USA Diving, USA Volleyball, USA Water Polo and USA Fencing, just to name few. As a result of our meetings, several  national and regional event opportunities for future years are being evaluated and researched for venues within our counties. We hope to provide an update on some of these opportunities in the coming months.
As you can see we've got a lot of great things going on at the Sports Commission, so read about our recent and upcoming activity below. |
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Best Regards,
Brent Nelson
Interim Executive Director |
 | | ECONOMIC IMPACT
The Central Florida Sports Commission serves the counties of Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia, as well as the City of Orlando, by strategically soliciting, creating, and supporting marquis sports-related events and businesses that enhance our community's economy.
Through September, 2011
Hotel Room Nights - 53,155
Tax Recovery - $555,057
Economic Impact - $35,001,679
Number of Participants - 28,577
Number of Spectators - 61,329
Number of Events - 57
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TEE OFF IN LAKE
We started off November with a bang by hosting the FHSAA State Golf Championships, which was staged for the first time in Lake County. The two-day championship was held November 1-2 using both Las Colinas and El Campion courses at Mission Inn, as well as Deer Island Country Club in Tavares and Harbor Hills Country Club in Leesburg. With 396 golfers and nearly 1,000 coaches and spectators traveling to Lake County, this event is expected to generate approximately $500,000 in economic impact for the county. We look forward to welcoming the FHSAA State Golf Championships back to Lake County again next year, and hopefully many more to come.
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YOUTH FOOTBALL IN OSCEOLA
With fall in the air, football season is in full swing. In Osceola County our favorite football players are less than 6 feet tall. That's because the American Youth Football & Cheer National Championships invade Osceola County in early December. The football competition will be held at Austin Tindall on December 4-10, and the cheer competition will be held at Osceola Heritage Park on December 10. Together these two events will bring more than 20,000 athletes and spectators to Osceola County and create more than $13 million in economic impact for our local economy.
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| | | ROAD TO ORLANDO
 The road to the state championship leads to Orlando! The FHSAA Football Finals will be held right here in Central Florida at the Florida Citrus Bowl. The four-day event consists of eight state championship games with two games played on Friday and two games played on Saturday of both weekends. The dates for the 2011 Football Finals are Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17. With the playoffs underway, several Central Florida schools still remain in the battle for a state championship. Click HERE for the FHSAA playoff brackets and check out your team's Road to Orlando.
Hopefully your favorite team will make it, but even if they don't you will not want to miss the best high school football in the nation. Many of the players that compete in the FHSAA Football Finals will surely go on to be the next stars in the NCAA and even the NFL. General admission tickets are $12, and for the first time ever you will have the ability to purchase a reserved seat. Skip the lines and guarantee yourself a seat close to all the action for only $17. Click HERE to purchase your tickets today.
For more information about the FHSAA Football Finals, visit our website at www.roadtoorlando.org or follow us on our new Road to Orlando facebook page.
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SOCCER IN SEMINOLE
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As for business development, the CFSC will be sending staff to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention in Kansas City, MO in January. When it comes to soccer events around the world, few can parallel the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Convention. No other convention matches the fun, excitement and learning opportunities this annual gathering offers at all levels of the game. This convention will provide our office the opportunity to network with soccer coaches, event organizers and others in attendance for the purpose of showcasing Seminole County as a preferred destination for soccer events and team trainings. More information on the outcome of our trip will be shared in future Sports Reports so stay tuned! |
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CONGRATS RUNNERS!
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 Congratulations and thank you to the runners of the 4th Annual Daytona Beach Half Marathon presented by BB&T! It was truly a race to remember. The Daytona Beach Half Marathon held Sunday, October 30, 2011, brought runners from all over including South America and Europe, but the winner was Craig Sinbine from Jacksonville with a time of 1:15:58. For the women, Katie Hoover of Ormond Beach came in with a time of 1:27:40. Also among the 1,000 runners was Volusia County Manager, James Dinneen, who placed third in his Age Division. We would like to congratulate all of our runners and we look forward to an even bigger and better year in 2012. |
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Sports Club Member Profile: Westgate Resorts | |
 Founded in 1982, Westgate Resorts operates as a subsidiary of Central Florida Investments, Inc. (CFI), which employs 6,500 people and has evolved into the largest privately held corporation in the Central Florida area. Starting with its original 16-unit resort at Westgate Vacation Villas, Westgate Resorts now encompasses more than 10,000 guestrooms at 28 full-service resorts in premiere travel destinations throughout the United States.
Visit their site at http://www.westgateresorts.com/
The newest additions to the Sports Club include:
Cross, Fernandez, & Riley, LLP
Rise
Join the Club today! For a full list of member benefits click HERE.
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