New Sports QC ready to score more tourism points
Two days before the 8th consecutive Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball tournament hits the hardwood at Moline’s Vibrant Arena at The MARK, Visit Quad Cities announced a rebranding of the area sports tourism agency.
Sports events help drive the QC’s visitor economy, increase brand image, and improve quality of life, infusing an annual local economic impact of nearly $60 million for the QC, according to a Tuesday release.
There is now a newly reorganized and reimagined Quad Cities Sports Commission, known as Sports QC Powered By Visit Quad Cities.
Sports QC remains a private non-profit organization and division of Visit Quad Cities that operates as the official sports commission by attracting, hosting, creating, and facilitating sporting events, tourism, and opportunities for the region.
Initially formed in 1995, the Quad Cities Sports Commission was created to attract, host, and support the region’s amateur and professional sports events. It was the first official sports commission in Illinois, the Visit Quad Cities release said.
“Sports tourism is vital to our future positioning as a dynamic region on the move,” said Dave Herrell, tourism bureau president and CEO. “We have not slowed down our sales and marketing efforts of this important vertical even through the pandemic, but it is time to reinvigorate and put some increased intentionality with this direction.
“We are in a competitive race against other communities in the Midwest and the entire country,” he said. “The only way to be relevant is a meaningful private/public partnership to create more opportunities and value for the Quad Cities. Sports QC will need increased investment, collaboration, and teamwork to grow and drive economic development, visibility, community programming, and improve quality of life.”
In 2019, Visit Quad Cities engaged Huddle Up Group to assess the region’s current sports tourism market and provide a Sports Tourism Strategic Plan to strengthen the region’s competitive identity. Following the new recommendations, Visit Quad Cities organized a task force of community members to establish an enriched sports tourism support system.
Their work developed a new mission, vision, brand, governance structure, priorities, and website.
Sports QC Advisory Group
“I look forward to working with the Sports QC Advisory Group,” said Todd Hajduk, general manager/director of golf, TPC Deere Run, and chair of the Sports QC Advisory Group. “The Visit Quad Cities staff have done significant work behind the scenes to get us to this point. The Advisory Group will be the foundation for a strong focus on sports tourism, leading to increased economic development and paying dividends to the entire community.”
Other members are:
- Sara Cross, First Tee of the Quad Cities
- Eric Griffith, City of Moline Parks & Recreation
- Ryan Hintze, Iron Tee Golf | Corn Belt Capital
- Mike Holmes, St. Ambrose University
- Andrew Lehman, John Deere Classic
- Scott Mullen, Vibrant Arena at The MARK
- Jeff Reiter, City of Bettendorf
- Emily Skahill, Frontier Hospitality
- Laura Wittnebel, TBK Bank Quad Cities Marathon
- Mike Zapolski, Augustana College
“The sports tourism sector is hyper-competitive with over 500 destinations vying to host all types of sporting events,” said Joan Kranovich, vice president for Visit QC’s business growth and director of Sports QC. “Sports QC Powered by Visit Quad Cities will continually promote the Quad Cities to event rights holders.
“We will be the team working daily to identify and host new sporting events that will be great for quality of life and our destination’s future,” she said. “We will also continue to build upon the solid relationships we have at the national level, as well as statewide partners at Team Iowa and Sports Illinois, to further leverage our sports goals and objectives.”
New website
Coinciding with the unveiling of the new Sports QC, a new website is launched at SportsQuadCities.com. Visit Quad Cities partnered with TAG, a local design and marketing agency, to build the site. This website is an important marketing, promotional, and sales platform that serves as a resource for sports planners and event owners interested in our unique destination.
The new site helps sports planners and event rights holders learn about the QC sports landscape, venues, event possibilities, and services provided. Vibrant images and new video content give a positive first impression of our family of communities, and an online QC Game Plan guide for a quick review and easy printing of sports information about the QC as a sports destination, Tuesday’s release said.
Quad Citizens are encouraged to submit suggestions for sporting events they attend or participate in outside the Quad Cities that could be hosted in our region. If you have an event idea, go to the Get Involved section on SportsQuadCities.com and click on the Bring It Here link.
Some upcoming scheduled QC sporting events include:
- March 9-12: MVC Women’s Basketball Championships
- March 10-12: March Madness Baseball Tournament and Midnight Madness Baseball Tournaments
- March 11-12: 2023 Queen of Quad City Junior Volleyball Tournament
- March 17-19: Shamrock Slugfest Baseball Tournament and Midnight Madness Baseball Tournament
- March 17-19: Softball High School Jamboree
- March 24-26: Swing Into Spring Baseball Tournament and Midnight Madness Baseball Tournaments
- April 23-25: MVC Men’s Golf Championships
- April 27-29: Soccer Showcase Tournament of Champions
- May 5-7: DR7 Flag Football Tournament
- May 5-7: USA Gymnastics Trampoline & Tumbling Region 4 Championships
- May 19-21: U.S. Junior Nationals, 21st Annual MidAmerica Basketball Challenge
- May 23-26: NAIA Women’s Golf National Championship
- May 26-28: Professional Disc Golf Association A-Tier The Rumble
- May 27-29: 2023 Spring Soccer Championship Series Iowa State Cup & Presidents Cup
- May 29: Kwik Star Criterium
- June 7-11: 2023 International Snowmobile Congress
- June 9-11: Soccer Showcase Tournament
- June 17: Quad City Triathlon
- June 23-25: Soccer Showcase Tournament
- July 5-9: John Deere Classic
- July 16-20: Luther College Wrestling Camp
- July 29: Quad-City Times Bix 7
- July 29: RAGBRAI
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