Olympic-style event brings athletes to town

Basketball players will compete Jan. 20-22, and athletes in volleyball, gymnastics, swimming, soccer, running, racquetball, table tennis, bowling, paintball and wrestling will be town March 3-5.

This is the first year for the event, created by Jeff Collins, Missouri Winter Games executive director.

Success of the event will determine whether it will continue – and if it’ll remain anchored in Springfield.

“We won’t have numbers until next year, but the economic impact it’ll have on Springfield will be huge,” Collins said. “You get that many people here, and they’re going to have to stay somewhere in hotels, eat at the restaurants, use the gas stations, buy merchandise at the mall.”

Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau statistics show each out-of-town attendee and participant will likely spend $75 to $100 a day on lodging, meals, gasoline, shopping and attractions while in town.

About 60 percent of the competitors are expected to be from Springfield, Collins said, and others likely will be from across the state, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Venues for each event were donated by area businesses in exchange for rights to operate and collect profits from the concession stands. Local businesspeople versed in each sport have signed on as commissioners.

“If there’s one thing I’m proud of, it’s the fact that I’ve surrounded myself with very talented people that are all well-season professionals in their own field,” Collins said. “That’s one thing that is key.”

Collins has high hopes for the event. He intends to make the games annual, and he has set a five-year goal for moving it to the national level.

Registration for events begins in October and can be done at the games' Web site.