Springfield Sports Commission looks for director

Larry Krauck served as interim director of the commission since 2004, when former director Brad Eldridge left the group to work in real estate.

But Krauck, who also was sports sales manager for the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, began working as special events director with Dick Clark American Bandstand Theatre in Branson in early June.

The CVB has a contract to manage the commission and to provide various services and office space, according to Executive Director Tracy Kimberlin. The sports commission, which has a $108,850 budget for 2007-08, pays the CVB $1,250 a month under the contract.

While the CVB has hired Bobbie Box to fill Krauck’s sports sales position, the sports commission remains leaderless.

New faces

Krauck’s departure isn’t the only change for the sports commission. Two board members were also recently added: Kyle McClure of City Utilities and Edsel Matthews of Drury University. They replace Karl Plumpe and Anne-Mary McGrath, respectively, former representatives for CU and Drury.

McClure, CU’s director of public policy and government relations, said the board’s main goal now is to find Krauck’s replacement.

“It’s truly a nationwide search – there (are) applicants from all over,” McClure said. “We’re looking to see if we can find the right fit – someone with the background and experience that can come in and help us continue to grow and find other potential projects in the Springfield community.”

Kimberlin said the search has been under way for a while.

“We did make an offer to a candidate from out of town, and unfortunately she did turn down the position,” Kimberlin said. “We will be talking to other candidates in the near future.”

Working together

The contract between CVB and the sports commission was slated to begin July 1, and it will automatically renew each year unless either party ends the agreement by March 31.

The two organizations began working together after Eldridge left in 2004, and the commission was wrangling with budget constraints.

“The agreement was reached that (the CVB) would house and manage the sports commission,” Krauck said. “We moved the offices from Hammons Tower into our office, which saved money on rent, and they paid us a management fee that was much less than what they would have paid a full-time staff member.”

The agreement works well for both groups, Kimberlin said, because of goals that align.

“Our sports marketing position tries to identify and go after amateur sporting events,” Kimberlin said. “The sports commission will also help with that but gets more involved in hosting the events once they’re secured, working with the various organizations that control facilities.”

A combination of public and private sporting facilities – Cooper Sports Complex, Jordan Valley Ice Park and Hammons Field among them – bring sports enthusiasts to the city, which in 2003 was named a Sportstown USA by Sports Illustrated.

And as for Krauck …

Larry Krauck’s new position as special events director for the Dick Clark American Bandstand Theatre in Branson is a return to event management. Before joining the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau in 1999, Krauck worked for eight years in promotions and events for what is now Clear Channel Communications in Springfield.

At the theater, Krauck is responsible for bringing events, especially motor-vehicle events, to the 26-acre theater compound at 1600 W. Highway 76.

“I was approached by Glenn Patch, owner of the theater, and I had impressed them with a lot of the car events that I helped bring to Springfield, including events with the National Street Rod Association and the Hot Rod Power Tour,” Krauck said. “They were looking for a special events coordinator who knew how to get car shows and who understood how to get heads in beds, because we also own a hotel along with the theater. So here I am.”

He said that the job is made easier by the numerous facilities available. The compound comprises a 970-seat theater, a restaurant, 300-room Ramada hotel, nightclub and five-acre amphitheater. Krauck said visiting events also could have access to Patch’s other Branson holdings, including Branson Creek and Murder Rock Golf Club, as well as a soon-to-be-built Branson airport, which Patch is developing.