In 2004, I started covering Springfield city government for The State Journal-Register. A plan pushed by the mayor and Convention and Visitors Bureau called for spending $215,000 to land “hosting rights” for an amateur sporting event known as the Prairie State Games.

I decided to investigate further and learned the Prairie State Games organization had some financial issues in the past. I wrote a series of stories about the organization, and eventually the mayor withdrew an ordinance approving the expenditure to lure the games here.

City to compete for sports festival / Prairie State Games could bring profit
May 11, 2004

The city is considering paying $215,000 to ensure Springfield is host to the Prairie State Games in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Springfield is competing with five other Illinois cities in its bid to attract the amateur athletic competition and its estimated $12 million economic impact.

The Springfield City Council’s public affairs and safety committee will discuss an ordinance authorizing the bid at its meeting Monday. It could go before the full council the next day.

The $215,000 represents “host city fees” for three years: $70,000 for 2005 and 2006, and $75,000 for 2007.

The Prairie State Games, run by the not-for-profit Illinois Health and Sports Foundation, is the state’s largest amateur sports festival, according to the event’s Web site. Athletes from across the state compete in 28 Olympic-style events. The Web site indicates 7,000 athletes competed in 2003 and 13,000 people participated as coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators.

Interested cities requested bid packages from festival officials, and those bids are due June 1. The cities submitting the top two proposals will be looked at by a site selection committee, which will make a final determination by June 25.

The identities of the other bidders were not available.

The committee will consider the quality of the venues in each community and the local organizing committees, as well as the commitment of civic and corporate leaders, according to Maureen Moore, president of the Prairie State Games.

“We think that if Springfield would be the city that would get it, there are a lot of positives,” she said Monday, noting that the tourist sites of the state capital could serve as an added draw for athletes’ families and that it would bring people to town during a time when legislators and schoolchildren are not visiting.

“If Springfield would be the city, we’d be pleased because Springfield does have some good venues and a pretty strong commitment from the community and the convention and visitors bureau already,” Moore said.

This year’s games will take place June 25-27 in the Metro East. Fairview Heights has been the host city since 1995.

However, the city council _there decided in recent months that Fairview Heights was not receiving an adequate return on its investment, said Ald. Lydia Cruez. Fairview Heights paid more than $500,000 to host the games between 1995 and 2003.

Cruez said only three athletic events actually took place in Fairview Heights, along with opening ceremonies, a VIP reception and athlete check-in; the rest were in other nearby cities such as Belleville, O’Fallon and Edwardsville.

“When we have to bear the brunt of the cost, it doesn’t make good fiscal management in my opinion. That’s why I said something has to change here,” she said.

Prairie State Games organizers earlier this year asked Fairview Heights to come up with $290,000 over the next four years, or an average of $72,500 annually, to maintain its host city status. Aldermen denied the request, along with subsequent proposals to pay $60,000 and $50,000 a year. The city eventually agreed to pay $20,000 annually to keep the games in Fairview Heights, but organizers turned it down.

Moore said the games had a $1.67 million economic impact on Fairview Heights and a $4.17 million impact on the region. It accounted for 8,470 hotel room nights being sold last year, and athletes from 94 of the state’s 102 counties participated, she said.

In 1994, Peoria hosted the Prairie State Games for only one year of a three-year contract. The sports foundation and local organizers mutually agreed to drop the pact for a variety of reasons. About 3,900 athletes competed in the games that year, and local officials at the time estimated the games’ departure would mean a $750,000 to $1 million loss to the area.

The foundation that year began seeking bids from other cities to host the games.

Prior to that, they took place in Champaign-Urbana, where the event had been since its first year, 1984.

The state under Gov. Jim Thompson originally provided a majority of the Prairie State Games’ funding, but Gov. Jim Edgar eliminated the state’s support in the early 1990s. The games are financed through civic, corporate and private sponsorships as well as athletic fees.

City may find it easy to score / Competition for Prairie State Games apparently not great
May 14, 2004

Springfield’s competition for landing the Prairie State Games is not as stiff as originally thought.

Representatives in four cities rumored to be going after the amateur sports festival – the Quad Cities, Carbondale, Champaign and Peoria – all said this week they are not going to bid and have not heard of any other groups in their communities considering a bid.

Rockford is still trying to determine if it will make a formal offer to host the annual event, as is Bloomington-Normal.

Maureen Moore, president of the Prairie State Games, declined Thursday to identify which cities have expressed interest.

“The only reason I don’t want to do it is it isn’t fair to the cities. We’re trying to keep them on a level playing field,” she said.

The Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau in April submitted to Prairie State Games officials $5,000 and a letter of intent to bid, as required by the bid package. The $5,000 is refundable should the city not be selected.

The event has taken place in Fairview Heights since 1995, but officials there will no longer host it, citing budget constraints and a weak return on their investment.

One alderman there said she had no problem with the games or how they are managed. But, she said, Fairview Heights put up more than a half-million dollars since 1995 only to have many of the events take place in other nearby cities.

Next week, Springfield aldermen will consider a request from the convention bureau to offer a required $215,000 – $70,000 for 2005 and 2006 and $75,000 for 2007 – to be named the host city for the games. An ordinance authorizing the expenditure could go to the city council Tuesday.

Site selection is based on additional factors, including facilities, commitment, volunteer quality and corporate sponsorships.

Bids are due June 1, and the selected city will be notified by June 25.

Prairie State Games organizers estimate the festival could have a $12 million economic impact on Springfield for the three years, based on the thousands of participants, spectators and others involved.

That figure comes from Southwestern Illinois Tourism Bureau estimates of the games’ impact on the Fairview Heights area.

The games take place the final full weekend in June. This year, they are scheduled for June 25-27 at various venues in the Fairview Heights region.

Wendy Perks Fisher, president and CEO of the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her organization submitted a letter of intent and the bid fee but is still assessing an actual bid. Crystal Howard, director of the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her organization also is considering a bid.

Oney Emory, executive director of the convention bureau in Champaign County, said his group is not seeking the games.

“It might be one of the park districts, but they certainly haven’t contacted us for any support,” he said.

Linda Wright, an administrative assistant in the Carbondale convention bureau, said her agency had not considered a bid.

The Quad Cities also apparently is not going after the event.

“Our budget would simply not allow coverage of the out-of-pocket expenses that would be required,” said Joe Taylor, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Debbie Ritschel, general manager of the Peoria Civic Center, said she was not aware of anyone in Peoria bidding for the games.

According to the Prairie State Games bid package, which stipulates exactly how much money and what kind of facilities the host city must provide, Springfield would need a number of facilities for 28 Olympic-style sporting events.

For instance, the host city must be able to provide three sheets of ice, a paintball park, shooting ranges, a bowling center with 50 lanes, an archery range, diving and swimming facilities, a golf course, a horseshoe park, various gymnasiums and arenas, a weight room or health club, baseball fields, tennis courts and a track and field location.

In addition to the initial $215,000, the host city will be responsible for financing opening ceremonies and a VIP reception for 200. The opening ceremonies cost about $20,000 a year, according to the document, and includes choreographed fireworks, a keynote speaker, big-screen videos and sound system, “sky divers or like entertainment” and an official torch lighting.

Obtaining corporate sponsorships is a big part of the host city’s obligation, and commitments must be locked in beforehand, Moore said. The bid package indicates $15,000 in corporate sponsorships for 2005 must be paid prior to Nov. 1, 2004, and $55,000 in contracts must be signed by Dec. 15, 2004, with payment due by Feb. 1, 2005.

Similar rules regarding corporate sponsorships are outlined for 2006 and 2007.

According to the Prairie State Games’ Web site, national corporate sponsors include Nike and Gatorade. Moore declined Thursday to say what the companies supply.

“A lot of our sponsors are national ones who are staying with us wherever we go,” she said.

Tim Farley, executive director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the Springfield Hotel Motel Association is eager to help land the Prairie State Games. Part of its commitment is to host the opening ceremonies, but Farley declined to elaborate.

“That’s the first time ever that we’ve gotten a commitment. That’s why this is unique,” he said.

“Anytime we have anything this big, we would have to go to them. We have to make sure the rooms are available. The weekend (the Prairie State Games) are coming on was a very flat weekend, meaning we didn’t have a lot of business. That makes this even more valuable.”

Farley said tourism officials have confirmed with Lincoln Land Community College, the University of Illinois at Springfield and District 186 that their facilities would be available.

He also said Springfield’s bid will include some additional incentives but declined to say what those were so as to not tip the city’s hand to its competitors.

“There’s been so much community support and interest in this. It’s not just about the convention and visitors bureau. When the hotel community comes and backs you up and says this is something we need to go for. …” he said. “If they’d said they weren’t interested, we probably wouldn’t have pursued this.”

Organizers criticized over the years
May 14, 2004

Organizers of the Prairie State Games have faced criticism through the years – from funding and paperwork disputes to allegations the events are poorly run. But supporters say longevity is proof that something is being done right.

“You’re always going to have some problems with an event of this size. You’re going to have people who aren’t happy with the situation, but I’ll bet if you canvassed the majority of the people, they would say it’s a good, fair competition,” said Charlie Merker of Freeburg, who has volunteered with the Prairie State Games since its early years in Champaign.

His daughter competed in volleyball at the festival and went on to land a college scholarship.

“It’s just a great melting pot of kids getting to meet each other and playing in a real fair, honest, level field,” he said, adding that he intends to continue volunteering regardless of where the games move to in 2005.

The Prairie State Games, touted as the state’s largest amateur sporting festival, is composed of 28 events: archery, baseball, basketball, baton twirling, bowling, diving, figure skating, golf, gymnastics, hockey, a hoops fest, horseshoes, judo, karate, paintball, power lifting, shooting, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, a volley fest, weightlifting, wrestling, 5K run, badminton, tae kwon do and water polo.

It is open to all Illinoisans. According to the festival’s Web site, more than 7,000 amateur athletes competed in 2003, and 13,000 people served as coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators.

More than 40 states have their own versions, including the Show-Me State Games in Missouri and the Sunflower State Games in Kansas. Winners in each state can go on to compete in the State Games of America.

The Prairie State Games are operated by the nonprofit Illinois Health and Sports Foundation, which also oversees the Southwestern Illinois Senior Olympic Games, the Midwest Salute to the Masters Fine Arts Festival and a new health program called Lighten Up Illinois.

The Prairie State Games started in 1984 under Gov. Jim Thompson and the Governor’s Council on Health and Physical Fitness. It was subsidized by the state until the early 1990s, when Gov. Jim Edgar eliminated the council and funding, according to Maureen Moore, president of the Prairie State Games. She has been with the organization since 1987.

A 1992 state audit alleged mismanagement of funds, but Moore on Thursday disputed there was any wrongdoing and described the audit as a “political witch hunt.”

“There are a lot of people whose reputations were damaged by it,” she said.

Since then, the games have been financed by civic, corporate and private sponsorships as well as athletic fees.

The festival took place in Champaign-Urbana, primarily on the University of Illinois campus, between 1984 and 1993.

It moved to Peoria in 1994 for a three-year stint, but the contract ended after only one year. The games failed to pay some of its bills to the Peoria Civic Center and other businesses, and there were charges of disorganization. City leaders balked at coming up with additional funding.

Moore said there were numerous problems in Peoria, such as charges for air conditioning at the civic center and the city’s sports commission not providing the backing it had promised.

“We couldn’t pay our bills because we hadn’t gotten the money from the city,” she said. “It just did not work. A lot of it, I think, is that they were too new in the sports business and it was easier to make us the scapegoat. … I think they learned a lot from it. I know we did.”

In 1999, the Prairie State Games’ accounts were frozen because organizers failed to file required financial records for 1996, 1997 and 1998. The problem had to do with delays in records being transferred to the Illinois Health and Sports Foundation from the Illinois Health and Physical Fitness Foundation, which previously had overseen the games, Moore said.

The Prairie State Games moved to Fairview Heights in 1995, where it has been ever since.

City officials there, many of whom said they have no problem with the games themselves, earlier this year refused to invest more than $20,000 annually, even though festival organizers were seeking $290,000 over the next four years.

Although Fairview Heights has contributed more than $500,000 to the games since 1995, one alderman described the city’s return in hotel and restaurant receipts as “nominal.”

Tim Farley, executive director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he had the reports of the past problems but feels it is a sound organization.

“We’ve looked at the numbers, we’ve talked to people who’ve worked with the games, and they feel it’s a well-run organization. There must be something to the games or there wouldn’t be (several) cities vying for them,” he said.

“We’re very positive about this, but we know it’s going to be a large undertaking. This is really not comparable to anything else we’ve done.”

The bureau is exploring the possibility of establishing a sports commission that would be charged with managing the Prairie State Games, should the festival move to Springfield, as well as attracting future sporting events. Anyone interested in volunteering can call the bureau at 789-2360 and ask for Jeff Berg.

Moore said she believes the Prairie State Games is a good, family-oriented event that has a positive influence on youth.

“We’ve been here 10 years, and we have been successful for 10 years,” she said of the event’s time in Fairview Heights. “We’d hold firm another 10 years except for the city being in bad shape. It’s just a tough time in Fairview Heights right now.”

Aldermen told four cities want Prairie State Games / Public Affairs panel sends issue to full city council without recommendation
May 18, 2004

The director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau assured aldermen Monday that four other communities are vying for hosting rights to the Prairie State Games, based on information he had received from organizers of the amateur sporting festival.

A State Journal-Register survey of tourism officials in the cities rumored to be bidding on the games indicated last week that two – Rockford and Bloomington-Normal – had submitted letters of intent and were considering a bid, while four others – the Quad Cities, Carbondale, Champaign and Peoria – had no interest.

Maureen Moore, president of the Prairie State Games, has declined to confirm which cities are in the running.

Convention and visitors bureau director Tim Farley fielded questions about the games and the bidding process from aldermen for nearly 20 minutes at the Springfield City Council’s public affairs committee meeting Monday.

An ordinance authorizing the convention bureau to pay $215,000 in “host city fees” for a three-years period, 2005-07, is making its way through the council. The ordinance indicates “five other cities” are competing against Springfield.

The public affairs committee voted to forward the matter to the full council without a recommendation. Aldermen asked Farley to provide additional statistics and other festival information for them before tonight’s meeting.

Springfield has submitted a letter of intent and a refundable fee of $5,000 to organizers. Communities vying for the games sweeten their bids by offering additional incentives.

“Keep in mind that, first of all, if someone called me from Rockford and asked me if we were bidding on the Prairie State Games, I would probably say, ‘Well, we’re looking at it, but I’m not interested,’ because this is a competitive-bid situation,” Farley told aldermen.

“For a fact, there are four other cities that have paid their $5,000 as we did – three additional ones plus us – that have paid their $5,000 to bid on this, and one that we talked to today that still is just kind of on the fence.”

When an alderman asked Farley which cities have bid, he said he didn’t know.

“They won’t tell me that. That’s part of the competitive side of it. (Moore) doesn’t want everybody to know who’s bidding, either, because she doesn’t want everybody to start calling one another. That’s just their rules,” he said.

The Prairie State Games, hosted by Fairview Heights since 1995, is touted as the state’s largest amateur sporting event, featuring 28 Olympic-style competitions.

According to its Web site, it attracted 7,000 amateur athletes in 2003, along with 13,000 coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators. Tourism officials in southwestern Illinois estimate the 2003 festival had an economic impact of $4.17 million on the region. Prairie State Games organizers estimate it will have a similar effect on Springfield.

Organizers sought $290,000 and a four-year commitment from Fairview Heights earlier this year, but aldermen there instead offered $20,000 a year. Organizers declined and put the games out for bid.

The games took place in Peoria in 1994, and prior to that had been in Champaign since 1985, their first year.

Some Springfield aldermen were skeptical about the merits of spending $215,000 in tight budget times to bring the festival to Springfield. They also expressed concerns that the city could be on the hook for additional money down the road.

Ward 4 Ald. Chuck Redpath said he believes the games would be a positive event for Springfield, but he wants more information before voting.

“The bottom line is, yes, this absolutely is a good thing for the city of Springfield if we can put the package together, and in my opinion, it wasn’t together tonight. I honestly think the support is here for that, but we don’t want to get burned,” he said. “If they don’t provide us with some statistics and numbers and some hard facts, then it’s going to have a hard time making it (tonight).”

Ward 2 Ald. Frank McNeil said he would prefer to see the $215,000 scaled back to a more “reasonable” amount, with the option of re-examining the city’s investment in the future.

Ward 5 Ald. Joe Bartolomucci said Springfield has seen sporting events come and go, and they “just doesn’t seem to find a niche here.” He said he would prefer to see the city invest in events that already are established, such as the Route 66 Mother Road Festival, Taste of Downtown, the farmers’ market and the Old State Capitol art fair.

Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards said he intends to vote against the $215,000 bid regardless of what kind of statistics tourism officials provide.

“I think this … is not a time to just willy-nilly spend $215,000 of the taxpayers’ money,” he said, describing the games’ moving from city to city “akin to extortion.”

“Anytime you say, ‘Hey, you’re not going to give us anymore money, we’re going to take our baseball bats and go play somewhere else,’ what do you call it?” he asked.

Also at tonight’s meeting, aldermen are expected to discuss a proposed citizens police review commission that has been in the works for many months. A report outlining progress on the matter will be given to aldermen, according to Redpath.

Games won’t come here / Mayor withdraws ordinance
May 19, 2004

An ordinance directing the city to put up $215,000 to bring an amateur sports festival to Springfield for three years didn’t even make it out of the starting blocks Tuesday.

Mayor Tim Davlin, citing a lack of support from aldermen and unfavorable media coverage of the Prairie State Games, withdrew the ordinance.

“I think there just was a lot of negative publicity; I think it got to all the aldermen,” Davlin said after Tuesday night’s Springfield City Council meeting.

“The aldermen, the ones that I had really polled, said they weren’t in favor of it, there were too many bad things about it. I don’t think we really got a chance to make our presentation, and by the time we did, they pretty much had made up their minds. You have to know when to pick and choose your battles, and folks weren’t there.”

Davlin said he had informed Tim Farley, director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, ahead of time that he planned to pull the ordinance. The mayor said he supported making the financial commitment to bring the Prairie State Games to Springfield.

Aldermen, in a voice vote, approved tabling the matter. Ward 4 Ald. Chuck Redpath, another who had expressed support for the games, voted “present.”

Bids to claim hosting rights to the Prairie State Games are due June 1. The convention and visitors bureau, which had obtained support for the event from local hotels and businesses, had already submitted a letter of intent to bid on the games, as well as a refundable $5,000 fee.

City officials are expected to proceed with plans to establish a commission aimed at bringing other athletic and sports-related events to Springfield. Several individuals and business representatives have indicated they are interested, Farley said last week.

Davlin said he, too, supports the idea of a city sports commission.

“We have a commission on every other thing … and quite frankly, I’m surprised we don’t have a sports commission. It’s not the kind of thing that just a convention and visitors bureau can do; I see this sports commission as something that can help do a lot of things to bring a lot of different venues to the city of Springfield,” he said.

“I think if we’d had this sports commission already on line two years ago, and we had the opportunity to come up today (with the sports festival bid), I think we would have had a much better chance of doing it.”

The Prairie State Games, Illinois’ largest amateur sports festival, has made its home in Fairview Heights in the Metro East since 1995. It was in Peoria in 1994 and in Champaign on the University of Illinois campus between 1985 and 1993.

Fairview Heights officials cut the festival loose in April – although it will still host the event this summer – citing a weak return on its investment.

Aldermen at Monday’s public affairs committee meeting said they were concerned the city could be on the hook for additional money in the future and had asked Farley to bring them more facts and figures about the festival and the city’s commitment.

“It would have had my full energy to make sure we didn’t do something that failed, and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be,” Davlin said.