Puttin' on the Nats. | Golden Skate

Puttin' on the Nats.

CoyoteChris

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 4, 2004
While searching to see if the US 2021 Nats website was hot yet, I came across a site called connectsports.com that had the bid specs for the 2021 Nats (this from 2018) The link to the whole bid package was broken.

U.S. Figure Skating is currently seeking proposals to host the 2021 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The events draws more than 490 athletes, coaches and officials from across the country, plus thousands of family members and fans. Here are the details: Deadline to Bid: Feb. 15, 2019 Dates: Jan. 11-17, 2021 Venue Requirements: One main competition arena (85' x 200' or 100' x 200' ice surface) with seating for at least 8,000; an additional ice surface for practice sessions with seating for 300. Estimated Number of Attendees: 190 athletes, 200 coaches and 100 officials Hotel Requirements: Hotel cluster in close proximity to the competition arena Hotel Rate: $119 or less Room Nights: 5,000 (850-1,000 on peak nights) Minimum Bid Fee: $750,000 Click here for the entire RFP. For more information, email Bon Dunlop, senior director, events, at [email protected].

I suppose a "minimum bid fee" would be a number a venue/LOC would throw out that they would have to cough up to USFS if they won the bid?
 

NanaPat

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
This is really interesting. I knew that cities bid on events, but had no idea how much they pay for the hosting privilege.

My small city used to host an annual athletic event (not Figure skating), lost it when the demands for a monetary subsidy became too high, and has since regained it. Taxpayers are definitely questioning why we are paying so much for for an event that benefits the hospitality industry but seriously inconveniences everyone else.

I think tourism analysts seriously overestimate the spin-off benefits of hosting events. For example, see this article about Skate Canada in Kelowna:
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelow...-International-brought-4-5-million-to-Kelowna

If you do the arithmetic, they estimate almost $1300 in spending per visitor "directly in the Kelowna area". Presumably that doesn't include the cost of transportation to Kelowna. Don't know if it includes the cost of tickets. Even including the tickets, my daughter and I were way under our per-capita spending. I would have been closer to the target if I had gone alone, and not shared a hotel room. But my observation is that many attendees were in pairs (often mother-daughter pairs, who presumable shared accommodations).
 

Ducky

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Hotel Requirements: Hotel cluster in close proximity to the competition arena Hotel Rate: $119 or less Room Nights: 5,000 (850-1,000 on peak nights) [/email].

I suppose a "minimum bid fee" would be a number a venue/LOC would throw out that they would have to cough up to USFS if they won the bid?

$119 or less per night? Well that knocks out NYC and a lot of other major metropolitan areas doesn't it.
 

NanaPat

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
$119 or less per night? Well that knocks out NYC and a lot of other major metropolitan areas doesn't it.

Maybe that rate just applies to rooms for competitors/judges/coaches plus a certain (small) number of rooms reserved for spectators, and other hotels can charge what they like to all the other spectators. Rooms in Kelowna for the duration of Skate Canada were at higher than high-season rates, even though it is low season. One hotel I looked at was charging $100 CDN a night more for the Skate Canada period than for the surrounding weeks.
 
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