Love them niners
By Keisha Williams, Outpost contributor
|
Playing games |
"It'll never happen." " In Reno?" "Be realistic!" "We can't afford that." "Maybe in 20 years, but not any time soon."
These are the reactions I received when I set out to find out if Reno could bring an NFL franchise to town. Many city leaders laughed in my face; others were more subdued but just as skeptical about the thought of a franchise in Reno.
Along with the discouraging comments, I also received a valid list of reasons why it would never work here--population, money and crowd support. Many people even went so far as to say we couldn't even get the San Francisco 49ers to hold their four-week training camp here. The negative comments lead me to ask, 'so what should Reno look forward to in athletic events?'
The drive to bring the 49ers to town to train heated up in late summer. The city got word this fall that, after being one of the top two sites for the team, it had lost out to Stockton, Calif.
It was a devastating loss to the Reno community on one hand, but on the other, it was a wake-up call. The campaign, although unsuccessful, energized many business leaders to demand more for the Biggest Little City. Next time, officials say, Reno will be more competitive. But as far as bringing an NFL franchise to Reno for anything more than training, they say it won't happen, at least not in the near future.
City officials say a more realistic goal for the city, given our population, money and crowd support, is to bring one-time major sporting events to Reno.
Fred Boyd, a Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA) board member, says Reno needs to build better business relationships so the city can be more competitive when other bids come around. Relationships played a major role in losing the 49ers to Stockton, Boyd said. Alex Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers, is a prominent Stockton businessman, and he convinced the owners of the 49ers to hold their camp there.
During the 49ers' campaign, local business leaders put together $1.5 million to help pay the costs in Reno. The community came together and supported the leaders with no hesitation. UNR officials were willing to build two practice facilities and a locker room.
"We had the best package, but relationships hurt us," said Jim Rogers, chief executive officer of Harrah's in Reno.
Another major factor that may have contributed to the loss team was the fact that Reno has sports betting. The NFL's rules and regulations are strictly against any kind of betting on games. The gaming industry could haunt Reno on future bids because many say a connection with gambling wouldn't look good for team.
"The 49ers were not comfortable with the gaming aspect of Reno," says Chris Alt, University of Nevada, Reno, athletic director. "It is not good for its image."
RSCVA board members say Reno has many obstacles to overcome before bringing a professional franchise in, but being a serious contender for the 49ers was a start in the right direction.
"I don't mind being their second choice," Boyd said.
Business leaders are in the process of forming a new sports commission to attract more events and teams to Reno. This commission would enable the city to be better prepared when reasonable bids, like NFL scrimmages or NBA exhibition games, come along. The sports commission also would help bring other athletic events and teams to Reno.
"We need to take steps that are realistic to our community," Boyd said.
The commission will be educated on the types of events that would benefit the Reno area in the most productive way. "The commission would boost tourism and city's image," Boyd said.
Reno now hosts some of the major events in the country like Hot August Nights, Garth Brooks concerts, and the Grand Prix, Rogers said. But these are all short-term events. Northern Nevada does not have a high frequency of spectators in its metropolitan base, so it excels better with short-term events, Rogers said.
Professional basketball championships, Olympic tryouts, college basketball regionals, major track meets and gymnastic tournaments are some of the events the RSCVA is looking to bring to Reno. Boyd also said the Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, and Denver Broncos could be approached about relocating their training camps to Reno.
While the thought of an NFL team sounds funny to some, to others it remains a goal for the future. Business leaders are working hard to become more competitive in future bids. The 49ers wake-up call has city officials taking the right steps to bring national recognition to the Biggest Little City.
"We will continue to look for niches and take baby steps as opportunities present themselves," Boyd said.
copyright 11/15/97 Nevada Outpost http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost
|
|
|
|
