Event Card combines five attractions

by Ann Bucy

SBJ Contributing Writer

For area residents in search of a way to spice up their summer, the new Event Card may be the answer.

The card, which sells for $50, will allow cardholders to attend five major area attractions during the summer without admission charge.

Attractions covered by the card include Springfield Lasers tennis matches, the Ozark Empire Fair, the Nike Ozarks Open, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and Dickerson Park Zoo.

Cardholders may attend any four of five home matches of the Springfield Lasers professional tennis team between July 17 and Sept. 19. The card also entitles the holder to admission for any two days of this year's Ozark Empire Fair, July by Ann Bucy

SBJ Contributing Writer

For area residents in search of a way to spice up their summer, the new Event Card may be the answer.

The card, which sells for $50, will allow cardholders to attend five major area attractions during the summer without admission charge.

Attractions covered by the card include Springfield Lasers tennis matches, the Ozark Empire Fair, the Nike Ozarks Open, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and Dickerson Park Zoo.

Cardholders may attend any four of five home matches of the Springfield Lasers professional tennis team between July 17 and Sept. 19. The card also entitles the holder to admission for any two days of this year's Ozark Empire Fair, July 31-Aug. 9.

Cardholders may attend any four of the six days of the Nike Tour Ozarks Open, which runs Aug. 10-16 at Highland Springs Country Club, and it can also be used on any day of operation through Dec. 3 at both the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the Dickerson Park Zoo. The Hall of Fame admission is to be used by an adult, and the zoo admission is for a child.

According to Rich Nichols, the Marketing director for the Springfield Lasers, the idea for the card came from Jodie Adams, the Lasers' general manager and an official with the Springfield Park Board.

"She had an idea of a combined program," he said. "It came to fruition when Gerald Andrews, the director of the Ozarks Open Nike Tour, and Marla Calico, the executive director of the Ozark Empire Fair, got involved."

The Event Card is being corporately sponsored by Great Southern Bank and KDEB TV-Channel 27. "We took the idea of the card to both of them because we thought they'd be perfect for this," Nichols said.

"They funded and underwrote the costs for advertising, and the printing and production of the card. We couldn't have done this without them," he added.

The card can be purchased at all Springfield Great Southern locations.

"The card is a win, win, win, situation," Nichols said. "It's a great value for the consumer, because they can go to top events at less than half the regular price. It's good exposure for the events themselves, and for the sponsors there's the benefits of visibility, goodwill and great public relations.

"To our knowledge there's no other concept like this (that of multiple events being combined with each other) in any other community in the United States," Nichols said. "There was no model for this. We may see it in other communities, though, because it's such a good idea." According to Nichols, the card will be offered again in 1999.

[[In-content Ad]]