Game Day. Every Day.
Posted on Jan. 21, 2015 / Subscribe 0
By Lynn Hobeck Bates, APR, Communications Manager for Visit Sarasota County
With the slogan, Game day. Every day, Rob Higgins, Director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, understands just how competitive it is to attract major sporting events to the destination. It takes perseverance, dedication and the willingness to put in a lot of sweat-equity. It also takes business-acumen and creativity. Take for instance a fun, homemade video used in a bid to host a major basketball competition. The video showcases just how close a new hotel is to the game day location. It’s so close one can make a long shot from its balcony. Clever.
The Sports Commission’s mission is to provide economic and social impact to the region. Economically-speaking the commission is responsible for bringing millions of dollars in tourist tax collection to the region. Events such as the upcoming NCAA Women's Final Four basketball tournament, NCAA Men's Final Four hockey tournament -- the Frozen Four will not only bring athletes who will stay in hotels for several nights but it attracts thousands of fans who will travel for several days to cheer on their teams. Sporting events are not limited to major collegiate and professional sports. Youth and amateur sports bring a considerable amount of economic revenue and benefit to the area as well.
Socially-speaking the Sports Commission helps generate scholarship exposure for local athletes. To this end, they own and operate 14 local youth events and hold recruiting fairs for athletes to attend Division III schools. “Often times these kids may not even go to college if it weren’t for the athletic scholarship,” says Higgins. They also run the Event Development Institute where new sporting events are created and supported.
So what does success look like on their scorecard? “[We] don’t deem it a success unless [the sporting event] comes back a second time to Tampa Bay,” said Higgins.
Keeping athletes, sports event organizers and spectators happy ensures this success. Sometimes this even means climbing into the rafter’s to stop a rain leak during a live, nationally televised Final Four basketball game.
Higgins imparted words to live by in any business, game or, just life in general,
- Be a part of the solution, not of the problem.
- Never burn a bridge you may have to walk back over.
- If you aren’t at the table, you are on the menu.
- Be a chess player, not a chess piece.
- Always be a student.
To learn more about the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, visit the website: www.tampabaysports.org.
To see more upcoming PRSA Tampa Bay chapter events, click here.
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