Small Town News

Sports Commission gets new funding foothold on West Plains

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Airway Heights lodging tax fund should help promote future sporting events in the area

The Airway Heights City Council last week approved a $10,000 contribution to the Spokane Regional Sports Commission in order to help develop and market the city as a destination for sports-related activities.

The council's action followed recommendations by the city's Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, an appointed board of citizens that looks for opportunities to promote tourism through use of lodging taxes, which amount to roughly 40 cents a night per rental room in Airway Heights.

In late January the LTAC heard presentations by Spokane Kiwanis Club and the Sports Commission, both of which were seeking a city grant. "We felt that the Kiwanis couldn't do much for tourism out here," said LTAC committee memberLisa Pederson. "We recommended granting the money to the Sports Commission would be more worthwhile."

Sports Commission president and CEO Eric Sawyer said this is the first time the non-profit organization has seen grants from Airway Heights, although lodging tax funds from Cheney and Spokane County have helped support many West Plains events over the years. "We have done things out there in the past, and it's nothing new to be marketing West Plains facilities, but we're moving toward a stronger relationship," Sawyer said.

In Airway Heights that relationship includes watching for progress made on a proposed regional sports complex near the county Raceway Park as well as working to attract new groups to the polo fields off Highway 2. Sawyer said the polo field has the potential to host many sporting events besides polo, such as rugby, Pop Warner Football, soccer and field archery.

"Anytime you have a wide open field of grass it presents a lot of possibilities," he said.

Sawyer and a staff of eight employees utilize a $1.3 million budget to bid on a wide variety of sporting events, sometimes competing with hundreds of other government bodies to attract events to the area. "The reason it's so competitive and the reason we exist is the potential return on investment for the community," he said.

He adds that winning bids isn't always about who can pay the most. A sound history of hosting successful events can help or hinder a bid, as can seemingly minor factors such as the climate or altitude of a region.

Sports facilities at Eastern Washington University will continue to draw a wide variety of events to the West Plains, Sawyer said, such as the Pacific Northwest Volleyball Qualifier in March and the WIAA state track and field championships in May.

While the area has few other sports facilities, this doesn't exempt it from sporting events like triathlons or road cycling, which was proven to be a success at last year's state masters cycling championship in Cheney. Sawyer said bicycle racing has a long legacy in the Spokane area, which is something the Sports Commission has plans to rekindle.

"The West Plains is kind of out of the box for traditional events but it's important to recognize that the area presents a unique opportunity," Sawyer said. "It's a great site for cycling...we're taking baby steps toward hosting a large annual event"

Ryan Lancaster can be reached at ruan@cheneyfreepress.com.



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