Feature

Utah: "The State of Sport"

On a Saturday afternoon in May 2007, some 5,000 spectators gathered in breath-taking Monument Valley, Utah for the first of two U.S. stops in the Red Bull Air Race World Series -- an international race where the world's best pilots navigate aerial courses at low altitude with speeds up to 250 mph while battling gravitational forces that can reach 10Gs.

The event, which generated $28 million in economic impact for Utah and over $10 million in media value promoting Utah, continues to draw interest two years later as the race is re-broadcast on TV stations across the world.

Another recent event, the 2008 Dew Tour, held in Salt Lake City last summer, was the most successful Dew Tour event ever and included the largest crowd to ever attend the four-day event in the history of the tour. It generated approximately $13 million in direct economic impact to Utah and $6 million in TV and media/broadcast value to the state.

Bringing major sporting events like the Red Bull Air Race and Dew Tour to Utah is the central objective for the Utah Sports Commission, Utah's premier sports recruitment organization and EDCUtah partner. In fact, the Commission has been integral in working with its partners on over 300 sports events since its inception in 2000, generating a total economic impact of approximately $1.4 to 1.5 billion for the state and an estimated media value of $70 million. The Commission assisted in 48 sporting events in 2008 alone.

President & CEO Jeff Robbins says the Commission actively seeks events that can leverage and utilize Utah's world-class facilities, infrastructure, institutional sports and recreational knowledge, volunteer database, sports industry, local sports organizations and other core competencies has in its $6 billion sports industry.

"If a key event is a fit for the state, we work with our partners to find ways to leverage our resources and bring the event to Utah," he adds.

The following table, which excludes the 2002 Olympics, lists a few of the major events that Utah has hosted or will host, thanks in part to the work of the Utah Sports Commission and its many partners, with their corresponding economic impact and media value:

"In addition to the economic impact these events bring to Utah, some of the events are televised nationally and/or internationally and have millions of dollars in media value as well," says Robbins. "The broadcasts not only showcase the events, but highlight Utah communities, venues, scenery and culture. What's more, several of the events have repeated broadcasts after the event is over, which continues to brand Utah as a player in the global sports marketplace."

Being a player in the global sports marketplace is one of the Commission's central objectives and it is working hard to brand Utah as "The State of Sport".

"With Utah's world-class venues, infrastructure and diverse landscape and climate, the state the ability to host almost any sporting event," Robbins says. "We have been branding Utah as an adventure/action sports state, which has been reinforced by the numerous action/adventure sporting events that Utah has hosted or will host in the future. With Utah's youthful population, this a natural message to send out."

Utah is also home to two national governing bodies of sport, the United States Ski & Snowboarding Association (U.S.S.A.) and United States Speedskating (U.S.S.). Thus, the U.S. teams all train at the Utah Olympic Oval, Utah Olympic Park and the ski resorts. Many of the athletes involved have moved to Utah. Furthermore, Utah's Olympic venues also hold training sessions for international teams throughout the year.

In addition to its own branding and recruitment efforts, the Utah Sports Commission operates a grant program that has provided $6.5 million to 175 sports events since 2000. The program is designed to assist organizations in attracting and retaining sport opportunities in Utah. Applying organizations must demonstrate that the grant award is a key component to the bidding on, hosting of, or the overall success of the event. Events considered for grant funding include amateur and professional athletic events or other sports-related activities that further the mission and meet the charter of the Utah Sports Commission, as recommended by the Grant Program Committee and approved by the Executive Committee after a thorough review process.

How the Utah Sports Commission Came to Be

In 1998 the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), after months of researching the future of sports in Utah, began studying the merits of creating an umbrella sports marketing organization to help promote, attract and develop sports similar to what many other states (over 42 at the time) had done. Leaders from the DCED visited Lake Placid, New York and spent six months researching and consulting with over 30 sports commissions, such as the Indiana Sports Corporation, which was generating $175 to $200 million per year for the state through sporting events. The DCED's efforts led to the creation of a sports exploratory group, which later recommended that a sports commission should be formed if Utah was to leverage the 2002 Olympics and position Utah in the sports marketplace. In January 2000, the group announced its intent to form a sports commission.

The Utah Sports Commission currently has six full-time employees on staff. President & CEO Jeff Robbins has a lengthy resume of service within the state. He is Chairman of Kirilenko's Kids Foundation and serves on the boards of the Utah Tourism Office, Olympic Parks of Utah, Economic Development Corporation of Utah and Intermountain Health Care's The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital. He has served on the boards of the PGA TOUR Nationwide Utah Championship golf event, the Jimmy Shea Foundation and was co-chair of the Moscow-Utah Youth Games, the summer and winter multi-sport competition held between Moscow, Russia and the State of Utah, where he represented Utah's governor. Robbins also served on the Board of the Governor's 2002 Olympic Hosting Organization, which coordinated many of former Governor Mike Leavitt's key initiatives during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, as well as serving on Governor Jon Huntsman's transition team in 2004.

Before joining the Utah Sports Commission in 2000, Robbins was director of Olympic relations and sports development for Utah and worked in the executive office of Novell, Inc. He has also held marketing and strategic relations positions with WordPerfect Corporation and Utah Power.

Robbins obtained a bachelors degree from the University of Utah and an MBA degree from the University of Phoenix. While at the University of Utah he competed nationally and internationally in tennis and is the youngest member to be inducted in the State of Utah Tennis Hall of Fame.

Robbin's Team at the Utah Sports Commission:

• Stephen Rich, vice president of operations
• Mike Deaver, vice president of development
• Laura Shaw, director of marketing
• Chase Robbins, projects
• Mike Smith, tournament director, Nationwide Utah Championship
• Jason Badell, Sales Account Manager, Salt Lake CVB

In addition to the staff, the Utah Sports Commission is also assisted by local, state and "TEAM UTAH" partners.