Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 28, 1990 TAG: 9007280135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
VAS exceeded its projections in virtually every category for the first State Games. Since the successful start, VAS executive director Doug Fonder has heard from new potential sponsors and businesses who hope to tie into the 1991 Games, which are scheduled June 27-30.
"Some hotels and other businesses who didn't give us a shot before have called since the end of the Games and said they're interested for next year," Fonder said. "That's great. I understand why there was some reluctance before. We had to prove ourselves, and we did."
Fonder projected 4,000 athletes for the inaugural event. The Games drew 4,465, who took home more than 2,300 medals, including 900 golds. VAS budgeted for $75,000 in athletes' entry fees. The State Games earned $100,256 in entries.
Although Fonder wasn't as concerned about ticket sales as he was putting on an impressive show of competition, the State Games brought in $11,565 in admissions. The pre-Games budget projection was $10,000.
Fonder projected $5,250 in concessions sales, and the Games brought in $6,885. Merchandise sales (T-shirts, caps and bumper stickers) reached $12,933. The projection was $7,500.
The CorEast Games got their immediate legitimacy from the 1989 General Assembly, which - primarily via the salesmanship of Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton - received a $171,250 start-up appropriation. State funding for next year's Games was trimmed to $56,500, and Fonder had been saying he hoped the legislators would raise the number.
Now, thanks to the success of the first State Games and the reality of the state's massive budget shortfall, Fonder doesn't figure to seek additional government funding.
"We had $171,250, and we were working on an 18-month budget," Fonder said of the establishment of VAS in February 1989 and the creation of the State Games. "This year, we'll be on a 12-month budget, and with the state having money problems, we might not be able to get more if we asked.
"Besides, we showed the corporate sector what we could do. We'll be out looking for more corporate sponsorship for 1991, and I think we can be successful in attracting that."
Not including in-kind contributions of advertising, promotions and equipment use, the State Games were driven by $225,000 in corporate sponsorship, including the $150,000 from title sponsor CorEast Savings Bank, which has made a three-year, $500,000 commitment. The Games also had $55,000 in combined funding from Roanoke and Roanoke County.
Charles Wilbourne, executive vice president of the Richmond-based CorEast, said he would sum up the bank's impression of the first State Games in one word: "tremendous."
"I was over for the State Games," said Wilbourne, a Roanoke Valley native, from his Richmond office. "Certainly, you're going to have some glitches in this kind of undertaking; I don't care whether you've been putting it on for 10 years. But, for the most part, things were great.
"Doug Fonder deserves all of the credit in the world, as does his office staff, and the volunteers. You couldn't have pulled it off without them. At CorEast, we're as happy as we can be, and we're already looking forward to next year.
"Yes, we took a chance with them. And we're glad we did."
by CNB