COLUMBIA – The City Council will consider creating a Sports Commission at its Monday night meeting. The new commission would centralize the responsibilities of attracting sports organizers and fans to the City of Columbia under a single entity.
Megan McConachie is the Strategic Communications Manager for the City’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. She says that a sports Commission could really streamline the planning side of hosting events.
“Right now, we work with a lot of different partners and hopefully this will get those partners around the table in a more organized fashion, and also just make a much more seamless experience of those who are hoping to bring their events to our city. It’s just going to make us a much more attractive destination to those sports events’ planners,” McConachie said.
The Sports Commission is also expected to make Columbia a more practical location for local and regional sporting events through more efficient use of fundraising, allowing the Commission to enhance and expand existing infrastructure to give Columbia a competitive edge in generating sports tourism. The Director of Parks and Recreation, Mike Griggs says the Commission will fulfil a need which was holding the City back.
“We always felt like we were at the bottom looking up at those that had well-funded machines that could really attract these major tournaments where we were struggling to compete against the advantages that they had,” Griggs said.
The commission will emphasize creating recreational activities which give traveling players and families a reason to stay even after their events are over, but also contribute to the overall health and happiness of Columbia residence.
The idea for the Sports Commission was originally presented in a 2014 reportby consultants from Aquarius Sports and Entertainment and Victus Advisors. These groups were contracted by the City to give an outline of how Columbia could become a top destination for youth and adult sporting events.
The City Council is set to vote on the proposed commission during its meeting on November 4.