2008 was the year of sports in Omaha, and the direct economic impact to the City of Omaha and State of Nebraska from the three athletic events sponsored by the Omaha Sports Commission (OSC) is estimated at $29,340,000. Two of the state’s leading economists – Dr. Ernie Goss of Creighton University and Dr. Eric Thompson of the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln—conducted a study of the economic impact of the NCAA Men’s Division 1 First and Second Round Basketball Tournament, U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming, and NCAA Division 1 Women’s Volleyball Championships.

The Olympic Swim Trials also provided the City of Omaha an additional $97 million in national/international media exposure from coverage of the Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha ($23.9 million), and media exposure of Omaha during the Beijing Olympics ($73.8 million).

Key study findings of each sporting event include the following.
Olympic Swim Trials (Eight-Day Event)
• More than 95,000 tickets were sold to out-of-state visitors, who came from an estimated 36 states and seven foreign countries.
• Swim Trials fans spent more than $6.9 million on lodging, food and beverages.
• The Olympic Swim Trials generated more than $1.3 million in state and local tax collections.

NCAA Regional Basketball Tournament (Two-Day Event)
• More than 21,000 tickets were sold to out-of-state visitors.
• Basketball fans spent more than $1.1 million on lodging, food and beverages.
• More than $256,000 was collected in state and local taxes.

NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship (Two-Day Event)
• More than 2,600 tickets were sold to out-of-state visitors.
• Volleyball fans spent nearly $440,000 on lodging, food and beverages.
• Nearly $184,000 was collected in state and local taxes.

Harley Schrager, chairman of the Omaha Sports Commission board of directors, said the economic impact figures demonstrate the important role the OSC plays in supporting Omaha and the State of Nebraska.

“2008 was a great year for sports in Omaha and has elevated our city to a new and higher level of national prominence when it comes to hosting great sporting events,” Schrager said. “The OSC has worked very hard to make Omaha one of America’s leading amateur sports cities, and we are proud of the numerous contributions we have made to the local and state economies.”

“While the direct economic impacts of the amateur sporting events that we examined were quite impressive, the spillover or indirect impacts were even more noteworthy once again putting Omaha in the national spotlight. I expect these impacts to grow in future years as the city’s support businesses expand to meet the rising demand,” Dr. Goss said.
“The surge in spending at area restaurants, stores and hotels during these three events was an important contribution to the local businesses,” Dr. Thompson said.

Harold Cliff, president of the Omaha Sports Commission, said the tremendous media exposure Omaha received in 2008 was almost as valuable as the direct economic benefits to the city and state.

“The Olympic Swim Trials was broadcast live on NBC four nights and the USA Network an additional four nights, and Omaha’s name was prominently mentioned throughout the Beijing Olympic coverage,” Cliff said. “In addition, NCAA basketball games were carried live on CBS and the NCAA volleyball championships were live on ESPN. The national and international media exposure Omaha received in 2008 will pay numerous dividends to our city for years to come.”

Cliff noted the report does not include the economic impact to Omaha of the annual NCAA College World Series. That event is not sponsored by the Omaha Sports Commission.

• superior organization of and attendance at the event
• a superior experience for the competitors and/or spectators at the event
• how the site or venue served to enhance the event.

Eligible events occurred between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008.

“We are pleased to recognize these superior sporting events. Each of the winners is a prime example of achieving excellence in organization and management for both competitors and spectators,” said Timothy Schneider, publisher of SportsTravel magazine, which organizes the annual TEAMS Conference & Expo. 

“The SportsTravel Awards program is an opportunity for our readers to honor their peers for a job well done,” said Schneider. “SportsTravel readers are the leaders of the sports-event industry, and they really know what it takes to execute high-quality athletic events. These awards reflect their expert evaluation of what makes events superior.” 

The ballot included nominees at the amateur, collegiate and professional levels in three categories each. Each event’s host city was also acknowledged during the awards ceremony.

The 2008 SportsTravel Award winners are:

Sports Event of the Year
2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship, La Jolla, CA

Best New Sports Event
2008 Ultimate Boarder, Lake Tahoe, CA & Ventura, CA

Best Professional Sports Event Series or Circuit
2007 NFL NFC Championship Playoff Series, Multiple Host Cities

Best Professional Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event
2008 ESPN Winter X Games, Aspen, CO

Best Professional Single-Sport Event
2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship, La Jolla, CA

Best Collegiate Sports Event Series or Circuit
2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships, San Antonio, TX

Best Collegiate Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event
2008 NCAA Division I Women’s Gymnastics Championships, Athens, GA

Best Collegiate Single-Sport Event
2008 BCS National Championship Game (LSU vs. Ohio State), New Orleans, LA

Best Amateur Sports Event Series or Circuit
2008 USA Softball KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour, Multiple Host Cities

Best Amateur Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event
2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, Omaha, NE

Best Amateur Single-Sport Event
2008 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, Oklahoma City, OK

The TEAMS Conference & Expo is the world’s largest annual gathering for the sports-event and sports-related travel industry. TEAMS 2009 will be held October 13-17, 2009, in New Orleans. For more information, please visit TEAMSconference.com.

TEAMS and SportsTravel magazine are owned by Schneider Publishing Company, Inc., the Los Angeles-based company that also publishes Association News magazine. The group travel markets served by Schneider Publishing Company generate 106 million room nights annually. For further information, please call toll-free (877) 577-3700.

State Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha was behind getting $250,000 for the U.S. Olympic Trials, so few on Wednesday might have taken as much satisfaction on seeing one pool completed and another started inside Qwest Center Omaha.

News media members were invited Wednesday to see the progress inside the Qwest Center for the first time since work began May 12.Ashford introduced LB 1052 last winter, which, when later passed by the Legislature, shifted money from the State Visitors Promotion Cash Fund to the city of Omaha for promotion of the 2008 Olympic Trials. Ashford said it was the first time there has been direct appropriations of that magnitude to an event, not a facility.

“I’m hoping in the next four to eight years we can attract additional events and the state will always be a partner,” Ashford said, standing about halfway between the filling of the warmup pool in the convention center and the framework of the competition pool in the arena.

News media members were invited Wednesday to see the progress inside the Qwest Center for the first time since work began May 12. Both pools will be completed before the four-day Mutual of Omaha Swimvitational starts June 5, to be followed by the Olympic Trials on June 29 through July 6.

Starting in 1993 with the state’s investment in renovation of Civic Auditorium, Ashford said there has been a slow-growing awareness that funds for events facilities would only benefit the state. He pointed to the Qwest Center as well as convention centers in Lincoln and Grand Island.He said that likely helped get LB 1052 passed.

“This event is clearly in the line of appropriations that the state has made into making Nebraska an events-centric state,” Ashford said. “Because we’re not gaining population, we have to find new ways to bring people into the state, and events such as this are clearly consistent with that mission and that vision. And the state has, and I predict will continue, to invest in these facilities and these events.”

Dan Morrissey, president of the Omaha Sports Commission, said the $250,000 goes toward “budget relief in general” for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Ashford said those behind the Olympic Trials — Morrissey, chief operating officer Harold Cliff, chairman Harley Schrager and others — “came down to Lincoln and really sold my colleagues in the state Legislature on the idea of this meet and this event as being a significant contributor to our economy.” The impact will include an estimated 10,000 people coming to Omaha for the Olympic Trials and accounting for more than 20,000 hotel nights.

Ashford also said the Department of Economic Development also has been helpful in other kinds of assistance.

“This is not a passive investment,” Ashford said. “This is an active involvement by the Department of Economic Development and the governor in making this happen. In some states, one would think, ‘Well, big deal.’ But in Nebraska, it’s taken us 15 years — and the building of the Qwest Center, I guess — to get to the point where our Legislature and the governor are looking at these kinds of events and these kind of facilities as being economic engines. It’s part of economic development.”

Workers from Myrtha Pools and DWR Construction had the Omaha Fire Department pumping the first of a million gallons into the warmup pool in Exhibit Hall A on Wednesday. The framework inside the arena gave the first glimpse of how the 50-meter pool would fit in the venue best known for housing Creighton basketball, UNO hockey and concerts.

“For many months, all of us have been asked how we are going to put a swimming pool — two swimming pools, Olympic-sized — in the Qwest Center,” Schrager said. “Now you see first-hand the marvel of this temporary construction.”

A late addition to the arena pool was 12 truckloads of sand. Cliff said it would go 3 inches deep and fill the gaps between the steel strappings so they wouldn’t show once the blue matting was laid over it. Purely cosmetic.

“It’s all about TV,” Cliff said. “We weren’t going to do it at first.”

NOTES: Pool temperatures ultimately will be 80 degrees in the arena and 81 in the warmup pool. It had a long way to go Wednesday. “It’s a little cold right now,” said Trevor Tiffany, president of Myrtha Pools USA. “It’s about the same temperature as the North Sea in England.” . . . Mayor Fahey was among those taking part in a ceremonial panel signing on the arena pool. . . . News media credential requests have hit 230 for the Olympic Trials. . . . Organizers have scheduled a free June 28 open house for people wanting to see the pools and setup inside the Qwest Center.