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Golf and Football HOF on same weekend strain local facilities
Saturday, May 12, 2007
By FELLICIA SMITH
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
The Holiday Inn in Jackson Township was sold out for this August a year in advance.
Penny Watson, the hotel’s director of sales, has been keeping a list of travelers wanting to stay there. It’s four pages and growing every day.
Their chances of getting a room are slimmer than usual.
With both the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend in Canton and the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron taking place the weekend of Aug. 2-5, hotel rooms are scarce, and the number of people expected to descend on the area is massive.
“They are gone, have been gone,” Watson said of hotel rooms. “When the word went out that the Bridgestone Invitational and Hall of Fame Festival would be the same week, it was crazy.”
TWO SPORTS, ONE AREA
Tiger Woods golfs. Michael Irvin caught footballs.
Woods is a living legend. Irvin’s exploits are legendary.
Woods will be competing at Firestone County Club in Akron, defending his 2006 title. Irvin will be enshrined in Canton in what promises to be an emotional ceremony.
Both men are major reasons that the first week of August is expected to be the Canton-Akron area’s largest tourism week of the year.
This is the first year both events will take place simultaneously.
Accommodation and combo deals
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” said Gregg Mervis, vice president of the Akron-Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It truly provides an almost international spotlight on our community and our ability to hold two events of this magnitude.”
The double billing wasn’t intentional.
The Hall of Fame Festival 10-day celebration has concluded in the beginning of August for several years, said Joanne K. Murray, director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival. In the past, the PGA held its tournament in Akron in the weeks following the Hall of Fame festival.
The shared billing is likely to last.
“This is going to be somewhat long-term, a multiple- year thing,” Murray said.
“We’ve met with the Hall of Fame officials,” said Don Padgett III, executive director of the Bridgestone Invitational. “It’s been a great relationship so far. We’ve tried to make a positive of having both events.”
Combo packages to attend segments of both events were developed. The shared week could make celebrity sighting more interesting.
Woods touring the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Maybe. Enshrinee Thurman Thomas in the gallery watching Woods tee off? Why not?
“You never know who you’re going to see where,” Mervis said.
A direct conflict between the festival and the golf tournament was averted when the NFL scheduled the enshrinement ceremony Saturday at 6 p.m., rather than its traditional afternoon starting time.
TACKLING PROBLEMS
Coordinators for the events estimate nearly 1 million people will visit Stark and Summit counties during the festival and golf invitational. “Anytime you have tens of thousands of people coming to one area, there could be challenges,” Mervis acknowledged.
Finding enough hotel space could be a problem. Stark County has about 2,100 hotel rooms. Summit County has 4,992.
“Back in January 2006, when we learned the Bridgestone Invitational was scheduled the same week as the Hall of Fame festival, we went up and met with them,” Murray said. “Hotels is one of the first things we brought up.”
Football enshrinees and their entourages are already booked. So are golfers and caddies, including Woods, whose usual place is at Glenmoor Country Club in Jackson Township.
And a smattering of rooms remain in the two counties for the general public, Mervis said.
But don’t delay in trying to find those, advised tourism officials.
“If you’re visiting family, you probably have a place to stay,” said John Kiste, executive director of the Canton-Stark County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “If not, please call ahead and make sure you have lodging and rooms. It gets extremely busy.”
“I would book my overnight stay now,” said Ruthanne Wilkof, president and CEO of the Jackson-Belden Chamber of Commerce.
Your closest bet may be Cleveland or New Philadelphia.
To find a room, Watson suggests being flexible and searching Internet sites such as travelocity.com or cheaprooms.com that offer multiple hotel listings and availability.
“That way, you’re not wasting time and calling 50 hotels,” she said.
“The beauty of the events is to get everybody involved. You don’t want to discourage people from coming.”
Reach Repository writer Fellicia Smith at (330) 580-8312 or e-mail: fellicia.smith@cantonrep.com
TWO EVENTS, One WEEK
Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival
-- Years in existence: 44
-- Attendees: 700,000
-- Volunteers: 4,200
-- Estimated local economic impact: $27 million
-- Possible Timken Grand Parade viewers: 105 million households in the U.S.
SOURCE: Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival
Bridgestone Invitational
-- Years PGA was in town: 54
-- Attendees: 100,000
-- Volunteers: 1,000
-- Estimated local economic impact: $30 million
-- Possible Bridgestone Invitational viewers: 280 million households worldwide
SOURCE: Bridgestone Invitational
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=353871&r=0&Category=17&subCategoryID=0
Saturday, May 12, 2007
By FELLICIA SMITH
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
The Holiday Inn in Jackson Township was sold out for this August a year in advance.
Penny Watson, the hotel’s director of sales, has been keeping a list of travelers wanting to stay there. It’s four pages and growing every day.
Their chances of getting a room are slimmer than usual.
With both the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend in Canton and the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron taking place the weekend of Aug. 2-5, hotel rooms are scarce, and the number of people expected to descend on the area is massive.
“They are gone, have been gone,” Watson said of hotel rooms. “When the word went out that the Bridgestone Invitational and Hall of Fame Festival would be the same week, it was crazy.”
TWO SPORTS, ONE AREA
Tiger Woods golfs. Michael Irvin caught footballs.
Woods is a living legend. Irvin’s exploits are legendary.
Woods will be competing at Firestone County Club in Akron, defending his 2006 title. Irvin will be enshrined in Canton in what promises to be an emotional ceremony.
Both men are major reasons that the first week of August is expected to be the Canton-Akron area’s largest tourism week of the year.
This is the first year both events will take place simultaneously.
Accommodation and combo deals
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” said Gregg Mervis, vice president of the Akron-Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It truly provides an almost international spotlight on our community and our ability to hold two events of this magnitude.”
The double billing wasn’t intentional.
The Hall of Fame Festival 10-day celebration has concluded in the beginning of August for several years, said Joanne K. Murray, director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival. In the past, the PGA held its tournament in Akron in the weeks following the Hall of Fame festival.
The shared billing is likely to last.
“This is going to be somewhat long-term, a multiple- year thing,” Murray said.
“We’ve met with the Hall of Fame officials,” said Don Padgett III, executive director of the Bridgestone Invitational. “It’s been a great relationship so far. We’ve tried to make a positive of having both events.”
Combo packages to attend segments of both events were developed. The shared week could make celebrity sighting more interesting.
Woods touring the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Maybe. Enshrinee Thurman Thomas in the gallery watching Woods tee off? Why not?
“You never know who you’re going to see where,” Mervis said.
A direct conflict between the festival and the golf tournament was averted when the NFL scheduled the enshrinement ceremony Saturday at 6 p.m., rather than its traditional afternoon starting time.
TACKLING PROBLEMS
Coordinators for the events estimate nearly 1 million people will visit Stark and Summit counties during the festival and golf invitational. “Anytime you have tens of thousands of people coming to one area, there could be challenges,” Mervis acknowledged.
Finding enough hotel space could be a problem. Stark County has about 2,100 hotel rooms. Summit County has 4,992.
“Back in January 2006, when we learned the Bridgestone Invitational was scheduled the same week as the Hall of Fame festival, we went up and met with them,” Murray said. “Hotels is one of the first things we brought up.”
Football enshrinees and their entourages are already booked. So are golfers and caddies, including Woods, whose usual place is at Glenmoor Country Club in Jackson Township.
And a smattering of rooms remain in the two counties for the general public, Mervis said.
But don’t delay in trying to find those, advised tourism officials.
“If you’re visiting family, you probably have a place to stay,” said John Kiste, executive director of the Canton-Stark County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “If not, please call ahead and make sure you have lodging and rooms. It gets extremely busy.”
“I would book my overnight stay now,” said Ruthanne Wilkof, president and CEO of the Jackson-Belden Chamber of Commerce.
Your closest bet may be Cleveland or New Philadelphia.
To find a room, Watson suggests being flexible and searching Internet sites such as travelocity.com or cheaprooms.com that offer multiple hotel listings and availability.
“That way, you’re not wasting time and calling 50 hotels,” she said.
“The beauty of the events is to get everybody involved. You don’t want to discourage people from coming.”
Reach Repository writer Fellicia Smith at (330) 580-8312 or e-mail: fellicia.smith@cantonrep.com
TWO EVENTS, One WEEK
Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival
-- Years in existence: 44
-- Attendees: 700,000
-- Volunteers: 4,200
-- Estimated local economic impact: $27 million
-- Possible Timken Grand Parade viewers: 105 million households in the U.S.
SOURCE: Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival
Bridgestone Invitational
-- Years PGA was in town: 54
-- Attendees: 100,000
-- Volunteers: 1,000
-- Estimated local economic impact: $30 million
-- Possible Bridgestone Invitational viewers: 280 million households worldwide
SOURCE: Bridgestone Invitational
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=353871&r=0&Category=17&subCategoryID=0
:laugh2: