There was nothing in the Dayton Daily News today- amazing, since all three county commissioners were in attendance, the county director of economic development, the head of the Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau- the list goes on. (I know, I was there doing something positive- so they would never breathe a word!).

So- here are the notes and the rankings of ideas generated by this group (dots are votes- each person was allowed X number of dots based on the number of ideas). Some ideas don’t make as much sense in this abbreviated format- some seem like duplication- but it’s a way to get a lot done in a few hours (it’s called Compression Planning).

Here are the notes (it was a public meeting- this is public info- and ideas should be shared – and work better that way)
Topic: Attracting more & larger youth/amateur competitions (and active lifestyle visitors) to our Region

Background

Youth/amateur competitions help fill hotels, restaurants and stores

• Our Region already has some very successful annual events (soccer, winter guard, etc.)
• Other communities have developed a strong reputation around these type events e.g.: Indy
• Most Counties already have mechanisms in place to try to attract these events
• Some regions have even formed “youth sports authorities”
• These authorities act like one-stop shops for event planners/families

Overall Project Purpose

• To increase the number of visitors attracted by youth/amateur competitions (and active lifestyle visitors) by 20% by 10

Purpose of this Session

• To identify the Region’s strengths/assets for attracting these events
• To identify weaknesses/barriers to attracting these events
• To identify 6 – 8 great ways to improve our chances of landing these events

Non-Purpose of this session

• To simply move existing events around within our Region
• To create more competition among counties in our Region

Strengths/assets of our Region in relation to amateur/youth competitions…

• Geographically Dayton is a really good location (17 dots)
• Affordability of hotels and venues (10 dots)
• 8 Million people within a 2-hour drive (8 dots)
• We treat people well who are coming in from out of town (6 dots)
• Quantity of hotels available in various pricing levels (6 dots)
• Does not take long to drive places once you are here (70 & 75) (5 dots)
• Outdoor Adventure Facilities (5 dots)
• Collaboration amongst a variety of organizations/facilities (4 dots)
• Unique amenities – capitalize on mini vacation in conjunction with competitions (4 dots)
• We have a Dayton Montgomery County Visitors Bureau (4 dots)
• We have a Regional Recreation Trail Network (3 dots)
• We have existing SWOSZ – 5 County initiative to book facilities, website (3 dots)
• We have 3 Airports within a 1 hour drive (2 dots)
• We have Quality hotels across the region (2 dots)
• We have Pro Sports Teams – Bombers, Dragons, Silverbacks (2 dots)
• We have a great variety of venues – readily available (1 dot)
• We have good clusters of restaurants that serve people (1 dot)
• We have strong High School sports traditions (1 dot)
• We have an active sport club scene (1 dot)
• We have a large park system (1 dot)
• We have diversity of entertainment in the region. Broad choices of State Parks, night life, etc (1 dot)
• We have an emerging paddle sports area on our rivers
• We have a growing base of retailers
• We have an event planners network to enhance or expand
• We have 5 sheets of indoor ice
• We have sports planners, like Tony, who can run the events
• Our water supply is bountiful
• We have proper weather conditions at the right time of the year
• We have excellent college sports programs

Weaknesses/barriers of our Region in relation to amateur/youth competitions…

• Lack of Capital to enhance and update existing facilities (19 dots)
• Lack of $’s for sponsorships, particularly Corporate. (12 dots)
• Lack of unique, new & large facilities (8 dots)
• Assets/Facilities & Programs not collaborated. There is no consistency (8 dots)
• Lack of National caliber facilities (9 dots)
• Local Media negativity (9 dots)
• No consistent communication between events, facilities & resources (8 dots)
• Need for cooperative Marketing among facilities (7 dots)
• We need resources to “play offense” with recruiting to event planners (6 dots)
• There is a negative image of Dayton – more internal than external (4 dots)
• We need better advertising for what we do here (3 dots)
• It is difficult to coordinate private & publicly owned facilities (2 dots)
• We have a lack of “backup” indoor facilities (2 dots)
• We need a well developed map of facilities, restaurants & hotels on paper and the internet (2 dots)
• Parts of the Dayton area are ugly (2 dots)
• We have inadequate website connections and linkages (2 dots)
• We have a lack of CVB event management (2 dots)
• We have few carriers at the airport (1 dot)
• Local permit regulations stands in the way (1 dot)
• We don’t speak with one voice (1 dot)
• Lack of sports branding (1 dot)
• Old and outdated facilities (1 dot)
• Lack of a way of finding facilities/events (1 dot)
• Need one stop shop (1 dot)
• North of town needs better infrastructure (1 dot)
• Too many hotels to take advantage of rebates
• No central complex, multiple contracts
• Lack of ocean
• Low dams and poor access to the river
• Lack of access for recreational trails
• Failing to keep national events here – Trap shoot and Hydroplanes
• Summer air quality problems
• Need more side events, evening activities
• Public transit systems – problems connecting facilities
• Lack of mountains

Great ways we could get a bigger piece of this pie for the Region…

• Develop a dedicated fund for youth sports with a realistic figure (12 dots)
• Sports authority with financial backing (10 dots)
• Build Central Sportplex on Parkside homes – I-75 Visibility (9 dots)
• Establish amateur sports as a community priority for marketing & investment (11 dots)
• Develop a database of event planners and contact management system (7 dots)
• Enhance mission of CVB (6 dots)
• Take “Welcome Wagon” on the road to other events outside the region…Dayton Outreach Team (6 dots)
• Bring back the “Welcome Wagon” (5dots)
• Use & develop existing resources (local event coordinators) (6 dots)
• Explore Public & Private fundraising (4 dots)
• Coordinate all the independent efforts through one source (3 dots)
• Define our niche in Youth Sports Tennis? Soccer? Hockey? (3 dots)
• Involve corporate sponsors financially and physically (2 dots)
• Create incentives for cooperation between hotels-retail and restaurants… (2 dots)
• ID 2 – 3 areas to develop a Vision for those (2 dots)
• Market with one voice to target markets (2 dots)
• Build a good web presence that connects the dots (2 dots)
• One stop shop for facilities, equipment support, infrastructure & event management (2 dots)
• Create sales force for sponsorship and events to align (2 dots)
• Better exploit grant opportunities (1 dot)
• Adopt a 50 year goal to generate Olympians/pros (1 dot)
• Look to local pro sports to create image/marketing (players- local connections) (1 dot)
• Start coach training program (local skills development program) (1 dot)
• Implement Unigov, reduce interjurisdictional stress (1 dot)
• Create a professional group that meets regularly (1 dot)
• Compile top 10 events we want to pursue
• Light Rail connecting UD Arena to and thru Downtown – along the river
• Creating a visual presence at events
• Create a Montgomery County Sports myspace & blog
• Create a mascot for all youth tourneys (prize giveaways, etc)
• Unified facility development plan
• Focus on unique facilities & programs for Midwest region
• Create central clearing house managed by sports czar
• Raise more money!
• Consistent Elevator Speech

Holding Tank

• How can we leverage this for area residents/attract residents
• Develop metrics for measuring success & determine baseline
• Invest in timing/scoring equipment (train volunteers)

Next Steps?

• Establish Task Force – meet regularly
• Analyze our top 3 successful events
• Start talking up sports-plex and locations
• Pinpoint unique strengths – strategize
• Connect the Sports sub-culture
• Look at enhancing website
• Identify most likely events & related numbers
• Teach organizations to link sites and info
• Expand Metro Parks role

Who is responsible?
Tony Lupia – Task force to meet by July 25th
Deadline
Task force to meet by July 25th