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2012 Spring Training Festival honored at 2012 Governor’s Tourism Awards Gala
This information was provided by the Scottsdale Charros ...July 20, 2012
Contact: Beth Burnett, Community Outreach Coordinator
Scottsdale Charros/The Charro Foundation, 480-990-2977
Spring Training Festival receives special event award
The 2012 Spring Training Festival, hosted by the Scottsdale Charros, took top honors at the 2012 Governor’s Tourism Awards Gala. The first-ever Festival, which kicked off spring training Valleywide , won the 2012 Special Event – Urban Award, which is presented annually to an event which creates a unique draw for tourism and attracts visitors from outside the local area.
Attracting more than 18,000 attendees, the inaugural Spring Training Festival was held February 25-26 at the Civic Center Mall in Scottsdale. The event was a collaborative effort between the Scottsdale Charros, Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Arizona Sci Tech Festival, Play Ball – The Cactus League Experience and the City of Scottsdale.
Serving as the kickoff to the 2012 Cactus League spring training season, the Festival generated excitement and interest in spring training games for residents and visitors across the Valley and helped bolster attendance at the March games.
Festival-goers purchased tickets and team gear from their favorite Cactus League teams and experienced all things spring training baseball. Families and kids of all ages participated in The Mad Science of Baseball experiments; scored autographs from Baseball Hall of Famers including Rollie Fingers, Fergie Jenkins, Gaylord Perry and Bert Campaneris and visited The Play Ball – Cactus League Experience museum. Local restaurants featured gourmet baseball-themed food and local bands played throughout the weekend entertaining the crowds.
Jim Bruner, who was instrumental in developing a plan to stabilize the Cactus League and in obtaining a Major League Baseball franchise and stadium for Phoenix, feels that the Festival can continue to grow and serve all 15 MLB teams during Cactus League Spring Training. “Traditionally, the first two weeks of spring training have lower attendance. The Festival gets our communities excited about spring training in Arizona and showcases our cities, facilities and amenities across the Valley. Spring training isn’t just great for devoted baseball fans, it brings over $360 million in tourism revenue for Arizona,” says Bruner.
As a long-time member of the Scottsdale Charros, which hosts spring training for the San Francisco Giants in downtown Scottsdale, Bruner says that spring training is not only a boon to our state’s economy, “The Scottsdale Charros take proceeds from each season and give it back to local nonprofits as donations and grants, along with college scholarships and master’s in education fellowships for working Scottsdale teachers.” In the last 12 years alone, the Scottsdale Charros have given back more than $8 million to local nonprofits and students.
The Arizona Governor’s Conference on Tourism is the premier annual gathering of Arizona's tourism industry, designed to strengthen and enhance Arizona's tourism industry. Governor’s Tourism Awards are presented annually to celebrate the outstanding contributions accomplished by the Arizona tourism industry.
The 2013 Spring Training Festival is slated for February 23-24, 2013. For information about the Spring Training Festival visit http://www.springtrainingfestival.com and like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpringTrainingFestival.
About the Scottsdale Charros
Formed in 1961, the Scottsdale Charros are an all-volunteer group of business and civic leaders dedicated to providing support and funding for youth programs, educational scholarships and grants to local charities. With a history of innovative fundraising, the Charros have leveraged spring training baseball as a chief economic driver in Scottsdale. Funds raised through the sale of advertising and tickets to the Charro Lodge & Pavilion at Scottsdale Stadium are donated back to local charities making the Charros one of the community’s largest philanthropic contributors.
For more information about the Scottsdale Charros or spring training baseball, visit www.Charros.com or www.SpringTraining.com or call 480.990.2977.
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