Increased sports tourism, the potential impact and how to make it a reality were part of lengthy comments during a work session for the Scotts Bluff County Board this week.
Monday afternoon, Commissioner Charlie Knapper advocated for the county to be involved in creation of a sports commission that would have an executive director who would oversee attraction, creation and promotion of sporting events that would draw from a large area, leading to an expansion of the local economy.
Knapper said as it currently stands, the county doesn’t have a lot of mechanisms to drive economic activity, unlike cities that can levy an LB 840 half-cent sales tax, and sports tourism presents an ideal opportunity the county has been seeking for a long time.
“I believe this is through the Sports Commission. I believe this is through a position called an executive director of that Sports commission. That executive director would operate much like a athletic director at a high school, minus the need to supervise coaches or supervise students. but that position’s goal would be to create events,” said Knapper.
The summer season was noted to be pretty full already, but the so-called “shoulder seasons” of spring and fall presented opportunities, along with potential for larger indoor sporting events during the winter months, including soccer, basketball, wrestling, and cheer competitions.
Cited during the conversation was the estimated economic impact of a recent multi-day 23 Club baseball tournament, which Knapper said was in excess of $300,000 over three days with some 410 families, attending. He also cited the sports playbook by Huddle-Up produced a few years ago, which said while boys’ sporting events had an average of 1.2 family members attend such tournaments, while girls’ competitions have 3.3.
Because of the number of existing sporting tournaments, and with the potential for many more, Knapper said a sports director would be vital, creating a potential backstop when organizers of current events move on, but also allowing existing tourism officials to concentrate on other opportunities. “We’ve got (Old West) Balloon Fest, we’ve got cycling, we’ve got Oregon Trail Days, we’ve got all these other things going on. Which is why I would like to see the separation, to have a sports market, have a leisure market. Gering takes care of the Convention Bureau, that kind of stuff, you know,” said Knapper, “so this would be kind of a third spoke here, and I think we need to get this thing rolling.”
Questions abounded from the board and those in the crowd about the potential pay scale of sports director, which Knapper could range from $85,000 to $100,000 in total compensation, and whether that person would answer to the board, the tourism advisory committee or perhaps a new sports-focused non-profit. Knapper said those details would need to be worked out, and this was why he has been focusing in on tourism-related topics over several recent county board meetings.
“This is economic development. This is the county’s only opportunity for economic development, and, if we want to diversify the tax base…. if we want lower property taxes, this is how we get it done. We grow the hotels. We build more hotels,” Knapper said.
Commissioner comments and remarks by attendees were generally positive about the ideas presented by Knapper, but many said a lot of details needed to be ironed out before any formal action.
