Group Wants To Bring Skaters Back To Spokane
SPOKANE — A local organizing committee is hoping to bid for the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships to come back to Spokane, vying to host the event just days before the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
Just getting the figure skating championships in Spokane is big, but getting it in an Olympic year would be huge because it decides who will be on the U.S. Olympic team.
The 2010 championships take place just 18 days before the games start in Vancouver so you can expect a much larger audience because there is a lot on the line. Star USA is the local company trying to get the games to come here again.
The championships that were in Spokane last year had record attendance and was recognized as sports event of the year by Sports Travel magazine and delivered an estimated economic impact of $30 Million.
Barb Beddor of Star USA says the focus of the skating and Olympic communities would be on Spokane if it gets the competition.
“Figure skating is the cash cow of Olympic games,” she said. “It’s the event that sells the most tickets, gets the highest television ratings, people are very excited to know who the US Figure Skating team going to be.”
The Spokane City Council is voting Monday evening to contribute $75,000 toward the competition because of the exposure and tax revenue it generates in the city. The city would only pay the money if Spokane gets the competition.
