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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBozeman Hardwood Classic- TBID Grant Application 12 7 15 Bozeman Tourism Business Im 0V m2nt District BOZEMAN TBID GRANT APPLICATION INFORMATION The Bozeman TBID is seeking to partner with organizations interested in developing new or growing events, conventions, rallies,festivals and tournaments(to be called "the event"hereafter)that have pvovenorquaUfied ability to generate hotel-motel room nights in the city ofBozeman. The mission of the Bozeman TBID is"to enhance the economic vitality of Bozeman by generating room nights for the cities lodging facilities through effective sales and marketing strategies,building collaborative partnerships and promoting Bozeman aaa year round visitor,convention and event destinadon.". The Bozeman TBID is funded by a flat fee of$1 per room night on individuals staying at lodging facilities within the Bozeman City limits. The Business Improvement District Law, Montana Code Annotated 2007, 7'12-110Ithrnu0h 7-12-1144 as amended,for funding of all uses and projects for tourism promotion within Bozeman as specified by the Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District budget. Criteria A. Requirements The following criteria are required prior to any funding bytheT8|D. (1) The event must have a proven or qualified ability to generate hotel-motel room nights in the Cityof Bozeman. (l) The Bozeman TB|D resources are available. (3) The entire event must be deemed appropriate by the Bozeman TBID(no political candidate promotion, no adult style entertainment,other exclusions may apply at the discretion of the Bozeman AreaChamber of Commerce and Bozeman TB|D). (4) The Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District and the Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce must be listed os additional insured on your event insurance policy. B. Advertising The Bozeman TBID will, in some cases,consider underwriting advertising efforts to help publicize an event that has a direct correlation to increased hotel/motel occupancy in Bozeman's lodging facilities. If approved,the following advertising criteria must befo||ovved. (l) The words Bozeman, Montana shall appear on all printed materials. (2) The websitebnzemanchamber.00mshall appear on all printed materials (]) Acknow{ed8mentofgrantonco||atera|:"ProducedvviththesuppnrtofBozemanT8|Dfunds." (4) Target Audiences must be a minimum ufl5O miles away from Bozeman, MT. (5) Copies of all advertisements must be supplied tn the Bozeman TD|D. C. Event Funding The Bozeman TBID will, in some cases,consider subsidizing costs that would otherwise make anevent infeasible to have in Bozeman. |n these cases the following criteria must befo||owed. (1) No direct cash subsidy will be given to the organization.Cash subsidies may be used for rental assistance, transportation assistance,facility rental or other expenditures deemed appropriate by the Bozeman TBID. (2) The Bozeman TBID shall be included in the bidding and planning of the event in an effort to maximize the number of overnight stays created and insure that all aspects are deemed appropriate. Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District D. Other (1) Award money will not be retroactive.(The TBID will not pay for advertising/promotions/obligations/other contracted services for the event prior to the grant being awarded) (2) Other rules, regulations, policies,and procedures pertaining to this grant are at the sole discretion of the Bozeman TBID. (3) Grant/Award winner must provide a wrap-up report and samples of produced advertisements to the TBID upon completion (within ten day of event closure). 20%of awarded funds will be withheld untilthis report is received. Recommendations While the Bozeman TBID will look at all events that create overnight stays,the following characteristics will improve grant consideration. A. The event occurs during the ten months that currently have lower occupancy in the Bozeman lodging facilities.July and August are the two highest occupancy months for Bozeman Hoteliers. B. The event is large in size. C. The event brings a large number of people from 100+miles away. D. The event is multiday. E. The event is new to Bozeman and/or has significant potential for growth. F. The event is not weather dependent. G. The event organization requesting funds is non-profit. Process A. Deadline-Application can be made 4 times per year, November 1, February 1, May 1,August 1, at the Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce at 2000 Commerce Way, Bozeman Montana,59715. B. Submit nine copies the following: 1)grant application,2) projected budget that includes all income and expenses,and 3)supporting documents(business plan, marketing plan,ad materials,etc..). C. Grant application will be reviewed by the Bozeman TBID and notification will begin 15 businessdays after the due date. (Nov. 15, Feb. 15, May 15,Aug. 15). D. Failure to comply with any of the criteria listed may require full repayment of TBID monies from the awarded organization to the Bozeman TBID. Acknowledgment of Criteria: Please sign below acknowledging that you have read and understand the above criteria: Name of Organization Requesting Grant Bozeman Basketball Club(dba, Bozeman Hardwood Classic) Signature .',-. Print Name Shawn.Harrison Position Tournament Committee Member Date W 7 /2015 Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District BOZEMAN TBID GRANT APPLICATION 1. GENERAL INFORMATION Name of Organization: Bozeman Basketball Club Address: Z354 Arabian Ave, Bozeman MT59178 Phone: 949'632-668I Email: p|ay@bnzennanhardvvoodc|assic.corn Name ofContact: Shawn Harrison Position of Contact:Tournament Committee Member Phone:4U6'579-677J Email: sharrison.nnt@Qnoai|.conn Title ofEvent: Bozeman Hardwood Classic Basketball Tournament Proposed Dates of Event: JanuarV29'31 Location of Event: Bozeman Senior High and Bozeman Middle Schools Amount of funding requested $_1{,DD0 Applicants Match (if applicable) $ Total Budget$ 5I\0X08--_' Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District (if using an email version of this document,please expand spacing when necessary tn fit all information. If using a hard copy, attach additional paQes.) 2. SUMMARY OF EVENT Please describe the event in detail and what it is that you wish toaccomplish. The Bozeman Hardwood Classic is designed to be a premier youth basketball tournament. it will have boys and girls tournaments divisions for grades 4th through 8th. The event is scheduled for weekend ofJanuary 29 through 32st, 2016. This tournament has typically seen over 60 teams participating in the past few years, traveling to Bozeman from around the state. Last year through increased marketing efforts and focus of Tournament committee the tournament grew to 90 teams with 60 of them coming from—100 miles away. Teams are expected from Missoula, Kalispell, Helena, Great Falls, and Billings. With each team averaging players and coaches, we estimate more than 1,500 players,family members, and fens are expected to take part in the tournament. The Tournament Committee is committed to ensuring the Hardwood Classic is the highest quality tournament possible and leads to the growth of this and other youth basketball tournaments in Bozeman. Steps already taken to improve the event are asfollows: m Expanded marketing efforts with website,facebook, and email outreach to attract top teams from around the state • We are continuing to invest to build this tournament so it becomes a marquee regional tournament and attracts teams from out of state. This could be as significant as the High School State Tournaments in terms of benefit to the TB|D. e Feedback from last year's initial tournament was outstanding but we need to continue to build on this success to make ita top quality tourney year over year!|| As a premier sponsor of the event, the TBID will have the unique opportunity to be on the ground floor of revitalizing and expanding this asan annual event. 3. GRANT REQUEST PURPOSE Please provide a one paragraph summary of the purpose of the funding request and what it will subsidize. Please focus on the specific element for which you are requesting funding. This funding will be used to pay MCA and quality referees, rather than relying on high school students or volunteers asin past tournaments. This will make the tournament more legitimate and will draw more teams from around the state and potentially from outside the state. The overwhelming feedback from past tournaments is the quality of the officiating needs to improve. In the past few years the tournament /fka February Frenzy) has decreased in out-of-town participations causing it to be more of a localized tournament, with only about 50%of the teams originating from outside a 50 miles radius of Bozeman. Hosting a quality basketball tournament isan expensive endeavor. Last year due tn the over whe|minQsign ups our fees for officials was$9,9S8. However,the upfront costs are vastly outweighed by the long-lasting impact such an event will create. The per game fees will be the same but the number nf games will likely increase and the expense of hiring officials including housing and travel expenses will likely be sufficient again.' estimating we'll spend between$10k and $12knn officials expenses. (]f the many positive comments vve received last year the officials were at the top of the list. VVe will lose teams if our ability to hire quality officials drops. The TB|D's support will ensure that the event will be successful this year and in future years,growing in size thus bringing broader economic benefit to the TBID members and the local economy. Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District 4. LODGING FACILITY IMPA Explain how this event will bring people from out of town to fill hotel rooms and list the towns, states and/or regions you expect the participants tn travel from. Explain your room night goals and how they will bemeasured. The tournament begins Saturday morning and runs through Sunday afternoon. Asa result of this,teams traveling from 50-75 miles or more will likely have to utilize local lodging for Friday&Saturday night during a historically slow period for local hotels, |n2O15vve had 9O teams total, and are projecting the same number this year. About 30 of these would be local teams (Bozeman, Belgrade, Livingston, etc.), which means about 5O teams from outside aSO mile radius. Our projections assume 6O teams at2 nights and an estimated 8 players per team on average with an estimated ADR of$85.34 (from Smith Travel Agency Projections). This results in projected $81,926 in room revenue for the weekend. With our aggressive marketing, establishment of this committee to improve quality, expanded outreach and addition of age groups we expect these numbers to swell over 60teams. 2O15 was extremely successful and well received, and expect all teams to return in 2016, in addition to new teams so this is fairly conservative estimate based on historical numbers. 5. ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW Please give a brief history of your organization. The Bozeman Basketball Club and Tournament Committee were established last year improve the quality of this event and augment the growth of this tournament as well as future Bozeman Area Tournaments. By establishing a Tournament Committee (including former MSU Coach Brad Huse, local community leaders, and AAU coaches with broad tournament experiences) we have taken necessary steps tovastly improve the quality of this event. |n past years this event was run by parents and volunteers. The proceeds from this tournament will go directly to supporting the Bozeman Hawks Boys Basketball team to assist in purchasing new basketballs, training equipment and sponsoring the team to attend summer tournaments and developmental opportunities. 6. AVAILABLE RESOURCES What alternatives toTB|D funding have been explored? Do you envision this grant as seed money? Will this event become self-sustaining in the future? We are exploring other sponsorships from local businesses. We are offering court sponsorships and are considering options to be included on the website,flyers, programs, and email distributions. The funds received from TBID will help seed the tournaments by offsetting some of the cost of officials as mentioned above. It is our intention with the improvement in the tournament quality we can attract more teams and grow this event so it is self-sustaining and also feeds into additional Bozeman tournaments. 7. PROJECT BUDGET TIMELINE Please indicate when you will need the funds from the TB|D. Be aware that once funding is recommended,a contract will need tobe executed by the Bozeman T8|D. The majority of the expenses will not be incurred immediately, we have already a secured the gym space. If the TBID grant money is approved, we would like the funds by January 29, 2016. Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District What are the primary challenges your organization faces with regards to this event? We faced three primary challenges. • Competition-from other tournaments throughout the state. There is literally a youth basketball tournament somewhere in Montana every weekend from January through March. Bozeman hosts fewer tournaments during this time span than Helena, Missoula, Butte, Great Falls, and Billings. In fact many of our Bozeman teams are traveling out of town to attend these tournaments. In order to attract the top teams from out of town and persuade coaches and families that Bozeman is the place to come and this is the best weekend to invest their travel and time, it is critical that we differentiate ourselves and establish a reputation as a top quality tournament. We are taking steps to do this by establishing the committee to ensure quality, early marketing efforts to the clubs throughout the state. ® Marketing/Branding-Over the past few years a number of events have occurred resulting in Bozeman becoming perceived as hosting poor quality tournaments and having poor officiating which has had a negative impact on the number of teams attending. There have also been a number of other very poorly run 3-on 3 tournaments which have given the Bozeman Community a poor reputation for hosting quality tournaments. This event was listed as February Frenzy in the past and was run by volunteers and parents. This resulted in logistical challenges and a poor experience over the past few years. The results of the survey were overwhelming that the biggest concern was the poor quality of the officiating. This committee has taken steps to re-brand this event, prioritize securing quality officiating, and implement a true tournament format. ® Logistics- Last but not least, we need to be organized to provide the highest level of service to everyone involved including the families as well as the athletes. 9.ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Please provide any other comments that should be considered. As noted above there is youth basketball tournaments throughout the state every weekend from January— March/April time frame. Bozeman is not hosting or attracting the highest volume of teams. This is a great opportunity to increase our market share for these tournaments. Many of the tournaments around the state are not of top quality competition or well executed. That coupled withdraw of the Bozeman community gives us the opportunity to host more of these tournaments and bring broader economic benefit to the TBID members and the local economy. Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement [listriCƒ IMMIENNEM own How many volunteers are required? 95_____ Has this event been in Bozeman before? Yes Has this event been in Montana before? Yes— Bozeman only Could this event cancel on the same day due tn inclement weather? Yes |f yes, explain: -Tournament is held in Jan/Feb and severe winter conditions could impact travel conditions Could this event cancel a month or less before its intended date for any reason? Yes |f yes, explain: -This would be very unlikely but possible if something happens regarding facilities orlogistics. Currently we have gym space secured. Tournament has never been cancelled in its history nor have many other tournaments around the state. What, if any, entities will profit from this event? Bozeman Hawks Basketball and the Bozeman tourism industry Please sign below stating that the above information isaccurate Name of Organization Requesting Grant Signature Print Name-Shawn.Harrison Position:Tournament Committee Member Date12/^I/2l15 '