I was lucky enough to have County Commissioner Dan Foley buy me (and about 29 other people) lunch today- to discuss what we can do to build Dayton into a Sport Tourism Destination.
Bob Steinbach from MVRPC was the facilitator (I am starting to think he’s the only one in town doing this- he’s at EVERYTHING I go to).
So- the quick download: Ideas have been generated, ranked and a timeline put in place. Top of the list:
- A central sports authority.
- Expand the role of the MCCVB (that’s the Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau)
- Look at SportsPlex at the Parkside Home site as a central facility – with tournament capabilities.
- Figure out a way to pay for all this- and track the results.
Still not quite my idea of building on internal strengths and social capital- but, one should feed the other.
Look for something on CH 2 news tonight- and maybe in the Dayton Daily News.
There are still a lot of things on the table. Just being a central location, having cheap accommodations and friendly people isn’t enough to bring a ton of business- but at least we’re looking forward instead of back.
Nicest thing that’s been said to me in Dayton in years: “It’s always great to have David in a meeting, it makes it so much more interesting.” Thanks Karen Wampler!
I guess I didn’t help myself with my introduction- where we were supposed to state our name, who we were with and what our connection to youth sports was. My answer: David Esrati, The Next Wave, Instigator.
The official report on the meeting will be out in 30 days- hopefully, we’ll also get a list of everyone who was there- and see some real momentum on this.
David,
Am I wrong or isn’t Omar Williams the Sports Czar in Dayton. I just dated myself with that comment.
Dayton would seem a logical choice. It is centrally located between a number of larger metros and is at the crossroads of I-70, I-75, and US 35. Side trips to the AF Museum would be a bonus.