indoor disc golf tournament

ok well i was a little buzzed the other night and sent an email to a women that is an event cordinator at the Devos place in my home town Grand Rapids Michigan.the devos place is huge facility that is host to all kinds of events,boat shows,rv shows,car shows.anyway i sent her an email asking if they would be interested in hosting an indoor disc golf tournament.to my surprise she emailed me back and said they would be glad to hold the event.i havent replied to her yet but she was asking for more details,she wanted to know what time of year,what year and if the event would be hosted by the pdga?as of right now this is a dream that i hope could be a reality in feb/2010.im thinking disc golf tournament/expo with vendors and the whole nine yards.this would be the perfect way to showcase the sport.im inviting anyone with ideas or suggestions to contact me through this site.so what do you guys and girls think?would you put aside the time and effort to attend this event.peace.

[Yesterdog]

grand rapids is a great town pretty decent nightlife too.

[Jamie 'gr8rocshot' Ruane]

Well it's good to dream big. There are several disc golfers in our area that work in the industry. As stagehands we don't only work concerts, plays and TV...a lot of what we do is in the I & D and decorating business for the trade show, convention and sporting event type deals. Trust me; the idea for an indoor event has been tossed around. Down here we have one of the biggest convention sites in the entire country. The Orange County Convention Center, two buildings, each is 1 million square feet. The West concourse is like a half mile long under one roof....plenty of room…no doubt.

There is so much that goes into one of these shows, I don't know where to start. The buildings owners or management won't give you the space for free. They are going to have to at least cover their expenses and they will want to try to turn a profit if possible. It's not cheap to run a trade show or convention. What it costs to set one of these things up is probably a very large chunk of the PDGA's entire current budget. The building's owners will be looking for insurance....big time. Probably 10 times what the PDGA normally provides for sanctioned events.

Typically a group, organization, or association sponsoring/putting on a trade show seeks bids from convention service contractors. They handle all the details for a set fee from said group, org, etc. they in turn pay the host facility a fee for the total space…leaving the host facility only the responsibility of providing the basic services….power, water, roof, emergency services…sometimes rigging and some labor depending on the contract. The CSC’s provide the rest…labor, leads on I & D labor companies, union labor, general decorating, insurances, hospitality, overall logistics, etc. The CSC’s also handle all the details of the individual booth space rental to the individual exhibitors; all this is for a profit….a big one.

You need to find out what the facility wants for rental and what they provide for services. You need full 100% complete commitment from the PDGA….which in turn will need 100% commitment from the exhibitors….i.e. the disc manufactures, etc. All this will have to be in writing…contracts on top of contracts. I would find out from the event coordinator what exactly is required…then maybe talk with one or more of your areas big convention service contractors. Also find out from the PDGA, upfront, if they are interested so when asked if the PDGA is sponsoring…you can at least say they are interested to find out more details. You may need to retain a promoter or related consultant to play this game.

What is working in your favor is next years budget for trade shows…as far as major companies go, is most likely being downsized for obvious reasons…so host facilities will be looking to fill gaps…make up some projected lost income, even if it’s not a windfall convention/event.

Keep in mind most Municipality run convention centers don’t really turn much of a profit for a years worth of shows…they do it for the impact on the local economy as a whole. So you need to be able to project how many people will attend and approximately how much money they will spend. They will want to know that up front…thus the commitment from the PDGA and most of the sports related businesses is crucial to even get in the door.

Good luck, remember anything worth doing requires effort.

[Jamie 'gr8rocshot' Ruane]

I should add that this idea is much more of a possibility...then Disc Golf in The Olympics.

[Yesterdog]

thx jamie your right.there is a ton of planning that is going into this thing,but i beleive the biggest thing is interest.if the pdga had a hand in this it would be the icing on the cake.and of course if people come to grand rappids for this event,they are going to spend money in local business.our economy sucks here,any outside money is welcome.

[stevo]

curtains or something could be used to divide holes

[mr ed]

hey now,paintball obstacles might be usefull,the imagination would run wide with any other obiects used.
Yesterdog said:

im really going to try and make this happen.what could be used for indoor obstacles?do they make huge fake plastic trees?

[Mike]

This would be a great event to hold in GR. I think that DeVoss Place would work for this type of event, of course, there wouldn't be 36 holes that are averaging 400', but that wouldn't be the point. I think that good attendance, plus vendors, manufactuer presence, club presence, local news coverage. How cool would it be to have a Mark Ellis putting clinic, skillshot events, maybe doubles horseshoes(they do sell beer there). Not to mention driving nets for interested "Joe public" to try out some throws and some different plastic. And there are landscaping companies that sell plastic trees and bushes, they could possibly be a sponser loaning some obsticles. Huge fans producing some wind. Yes, it would take work, commitment and planning, but I think that it's crazy enough to work.

[eric beich]

I've had visions of an indoor course for quite awhile. I envision tunnel-like areas with holes along the side to catch and stop a wayward disc, areas of netting, and areas almost like a putt-putt course where you have to make the disc go in a certain area and it would be like chutes that would carry the disc somewhere else along the course. maybe have some sort of sensors in areas that if hit would light up things or put something into motion. holy crap!! I'm not even high!!

[Kyle Jacob Smalling]

I would travel to Michigan for this, dude. Not too far from Indiana. Make sure there is a spot for juniors

[Bill Burns]

Ben won't have to worry about any poison ivy there.

[kindofabuzz]

Here's some indoor fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhm9Hgafjug

[nitegolfer]

Sounds like fun. I did play Mini Golf in the Holidome at Bowling Green one year.