Bobbi Box took over as director of the Sports Commission in February. Box continues to serve as sports sales manager for the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, where she has worked since July 2007.
Q: What are your job duties?
A: My primary function on the CVB side is to bring sporting events to the city. I maintain my sales function - I have a room-night goal and all those other things that a salesperson has. As the sports commission director, what was added was the administrative part - having a board, doing the budgeting with board approval. The other part of what I do is driving membership sales to enhance our budget, as well as acting as the spokesperson for the commission to educate the public on why sporting events are important to the community and what purpose the commission serves. We serve as a clearinghouse - if you need funding, if you need volunteers, if you need help securing venues, the commission can do those things with the CVB.
Q: Why combine the two jobs?
A: I was involved in the sports commission in that I would go to the meetings and report on what I was doing to bring sports here, and the decision was made by the board to combine them. It made sense, because I was already doing a function of what the sports commission is tasked to do. I already go to those events, and I know a lot of those people, so there was some duplication and overlap. It's not that two heads aren't better than one; in this case, it just made sense to bring me into both roles.
Q: The National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships earlier this month brought to town 3,500 players and their families, creating $3.65 million in direct spending. What went into securing that event?
A: I was put in touch with Tim Flatt, who actually owns the tournament. They were having some challenges with venues in Oklahoma City, and there were about five cities he was considering when I called him in July. Part of it was timing - and timing can be everything in sales. He made a trip to Springfield. I was able to show him all the venues that we have, and he laid out for me what he needed to make the tournament happen. It was something that moved very quickly - in a matter of two months, we had to secure 33 venues, room blocks and a range of other things. But it was about having the quality venues he needed, and when he saw that we could bring everyone together, that's what he appreciated.
Q: What other events are coming up this year?
A: In April, we have the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Lake Country Soccer Friendship Cup. That right now is at about 122 teams for that tournament. The Missouri Special Olympics in May will bring close to 1,000 athletes. They're a little unique as well in that they do dorm housing, but their folks come in to see them as well.
In November, we have the American High School Athletic Championships. That's going to be a fall multisport festival, and we got that as a result of the home-school tournament. They think that in five years, it will be just as big. We think it will generate about 2,000 room nights over three days.
Q: What sports do you want to see more of in Springfield?
A: I have a 7-year-old ... and he loves tae kwon do. I would love to get more martial arts to this area. ... We need to look at gymnastics, cheer and dance - a lot of sports that we haven't even tapped the market for yet.Interview by Jeremy Elwood.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
