July/August 2014 – BizVoice/Indiana Chamber
53
Buying Instead of Bidding
Competition to host amateur and professional sporting events is becoming increasingly intense.
Places across the country (and beyond) vie for the economic boost visitors bring to their hotels,
restaurants, retailers, cultural destinations and other industries.
Typically, there is a bidding process – often an expensive one – in which candidates tout their
community’s assets. Extreme example: Indianapolis’ recent attempt to secure another Super Bowl.
Nationally there are several examples of city and state governments that are considering bypassing
bidding in favor of purchasing events. Buying rugby, lacrosse and polo events is part of these cities’
game plans: San Diego, Princeton (New Jersey) and Riverside (California), respectively.
Last fall, the Capital Region Development Authority in Connecticut voted to buy the rights to
the Women’s Tennis Association’s New Haven Open (renamed the Connecticut Open) for
$618,000. Governor Dannel P. Malloy has credited the purchase with “saving” the tournament.
The nine-day event creates approximately $26 million in regional economic impact, according
to a local study conducted in 2008.
QUICK HITS
Taking a ‘Bite’ Out of Youth Sports Market
“Come on, team. Let’s give 110%!”
It’s an oft-repeated mantra in the locker room and on the playing field. A Fort Wayne sports nutrition company is turning the concept into a
winning business strategy for youth athletes.
Launched in March of this year and headquartered inside Spiece Fieldhouse, 110Athletics aims to boost energy and performance with bite-
sized wafers scientifically designed to meet the needs of basketball, soccer, football and volleyball players. A fifth category – competitive athletics
– encompasses tennis, baseball, swimming, track and field, cross country, lacrosse and other sports.
The premise is that no two athletes and no two sports are the same. Working closely with nutritionists and dietitians, 110Athletics
customizes each product based on the unique nutritional content (including fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals) each sport requires
for optimal success. A quick glance at the packaging reveals how many wafers to eat – and when – based on body weight for peak performance.
They are available in chocolate and vanilla flavors.
“The energy and protein bar category is a huge market and is kind of one size fits all,” shares 110Athletics founder and president Aaron
Knight. “A freshman playing basketball may weigh 110 pounds and a senior playing football may weigh over 200 pounds. Why would they need
the same amount of anything?”
The wafers solve that problem, he notes, allowing athletes to eat exactly the amount they need.
High school freshman Lexi spends four hours playing softball and volleyball every day. Her mother, Tracy, noticed a big difference after Lexi
ate a 110Athletics wafer one evening between practices.
“Usually halfway through volleyball practice, she’s exhausted,” Tracy recalls, “but that day after practice – which was mostly conditioning
and quite a bit of running – she felt great. She didn’t feel tired or hungry and had quite a bit of energy.”
Knight declares, “What we’ve done is created a category that previously didn’t exist – sport-specific nutrition targeted toward young
athletes. It’s something we’re really proud of.”
110Athletics projects it will create approximately 50 to 100 jobs over the next three to five years.
RESOURCE:
Aaron Knight, 110Athletics, at
Fielding New
Opportunities
Indiana has hosted 400-plus national
and international sporting events –
generating billions of dollars in economic
impact – over the last 35 years. Sports
Indiana, a non-profit organization
headquartered in Indianapolis that
promotes sports tourism, plans to build
on that successful track record by
expanding its membership.
Sports Indiana was established in
2008. Previously, membership was limited to
sports commissions and convention and
visitors bureaus. Now, rights holders, venue
operators, educational institutions, parks
departments and others can join.
“Our goal is to educate our members
and to market Indiana on a national
level,” explains executive director Lisa
Davis. “In this industry, it’s so important
to build and maintain relationships. It’s
important to get (new members) to the
table and learn from them.
“The impact on the state
(economically) is that we’ll be able to
secure more sporting events through
those relationships we’re building,”
Davis asserts.
RESOURCE:
Lisa Davis, Sports Indiana,
at
Going to the Next Sports Level
By Symone C. Skrzycki
Hosting sporting events is a winning economic strategy for locales across the state and the country.
