Ocean City Preps for Dew Tour

While on my weekend jaunt to the beach (or “down the ocean, hon”), I couldn’t help but notice the presence of the Dew Tour in Ocean City with the event being over a month away.  Every other commercial on my radio was for the Dew Tour Pantech Open.  Buses driving up and down Coastal Highway had advertisements for the Tour on them, and the whole city was abuzz with the big event that was about to grace their shores.

I decided to go check out the Ocean Bowl Skate Park and see how the preparations were coming along for the upcoming Dew Tour stop in Ocean City.  I had just read that a new contractor had been hired to finish up the renovation of the bowl, so I wanted to take a look at what had been done so far.

Guests Bearing Gifts

In selling the benefits of tournaments and other outside events to county and municipal recreation officials, Terry reminds them that making community-based facilities available to outside entities frequently pays handsome dividends.  From rental fees to facility upgrades, hosting activities and events is a smart way to stretch the limited resources local governments and clubs need to maintain their quality of life amenities.

We offer a very good example which presented itself just this week.

The Town of Ocean City was elated to be selected the premier event site for the 2011 Dew Action Sports Tour this July.  The resort community, which lives to welcome visitors and promote its many attractions, saw this opportunity for just what it is — a nationally broadcast infomercial showcasing the appeal of Ocean City around the dynamics of action sports.

There is also a great deal of direct hotel and admission tax revenue by fans who will flock to see the competition live and spend the weekend.  One thing we learned when Dew was last in Maryland — there are a lot of skateboarders in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Ocean City itself has a vibrant action sports scene.  In fact, the municipal skate park, known as the Ocean Bowl, is the oldest community-owned skate park in the country.

Like many municipally owned recreational facilities, maintenance was deferred for more pressing needs –until they learned company was coming.  Having millions of skateboarding fans focused on their city (particularly when the bowl may be used for the festival activities) suddenly pushed needed repairs to the top of the “to do” list.  Now, a long-delayed addition to the park is considered a priority too.

In other words — instead of being an outlay or expenditure, work on the Ocean Bowl is now an investment for hosting future events that bring more blessings to the resort town of Ocean City.

And who benefits most?  Those residents who enjoy the park the rest of the year.  In essence, improvements to a top flight community asset are being bankrolled by the proceeds a major sports event.  One that focuses on that facility and will bring even more visitors and $$$$ to town.

We were delighted to see Ocean City council voted yesterday to fund the park improvements.  Work could start as early as today.  By Memorial Day, Rodney could be doing doing half pipes with his life preserver.

This is a lesson we hope many other county and municipal recreation officials will heed.  There’s a lot of opportunity in hosting events and tournaments.  Talk to Terry about taking advantage of them.