NEWS

Sports tourism helps overcome covid doldrums, says Gibbons

By JOHN HOWELL
Posted 11/25/21

“Sports is leading us out of the doldrums of Covid,” John Gibbons, executive director of the Rhode Island Sports Commission told the Warwick Rotary Club Thursday.

The commission that …

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NEWS

Sports tourism helps overcome covid doldrums, says Gibbons

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“Sports is leading us out of the doldrums of Covid,” John Gibbons, executive director of the Rhode Island Sports Commission told the Warwick Rotary Club Thursday.

The commission that comes under the umbrella of the  Providence/Warwick Visitors Convention Bureau actively pursues sports teams and organizations, which also includes American Contract Bridge, to hold events in the state.

“When they play here, they stay here,” Gibbons said of the impact visiting teams have on hotel nights, restaurants and the overall state economy.

In 2019 the commission brought 43 events into the state.

The pandemic threw a wrench into 2020.

Gibbons told of how cheerleading competitions involving 7,000 cheerleaders was ready to go live in March of 2020 when the governor shutdown the state by emergency executive order. Events were canceled and for the year, with many of the events being held before the shutdown, the state hosted 21 events.

So far this year, the state has hosted 11 events.

Gibbons said Warwick hotels has made a stronger recovery than Providence that he attributed in part to Providence serving more business clientele while Warwick is more leisure and sports teams.

Gibbons attributed the state’s success in attracting sporting events to its facilities, location that puts it in a day’s travel of 30 percent of the nation’s population and to the fact that Rhode Islanders know one another and can make things happen.

He gave the example of the 2012 US Youth Soccer Championships that had been scheduled out of state. Organizers of the event called in a panic. The venue planned for the event fell through and they called Gibbons for help. They would need 20 fields and they would need to know if the Ocean State could make it happen by the end of the week. Gibbons knew only URI could satisfy the field requirement. He also knew if he could make it happen the event would fill 3,500 hotel rooms. He talked to the URI athletic director who said the only way the even could happen on such short notice was if the governor called the university president.

Well, this is Rhode Island. Gibbons spelled out the opportunity to some of his contacts. The next morning the governor called the university president. The championships were held. The Sports Commission got a two-year agreement to host the championships.

“This industry is all about relationships,” he said.

Gibbons has found the state colleges and universities receptive to hosting youth athletic events, especially when he reminds their recruiting teams all these students will be visiting their campuses to play on their fields, swim in their pools and skate on their ice.

“This city is so important to what we do,” Gibbons said of Warwick. Apart from its 16 hotels, Gibbons cited its athletic facilities naming in particular its two ice rinks.

“Warwick is a great hockey town” he said.

But the state could do even better in attracting sporting events.

What Gibbons would love to see is a complex with six to eight flat fields  and an indoor facility with six to seven basketball courts that could be transitioned in to 12 to 14 volleyball courts.

sports, tourism

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