Events like Grand Prix give cities a sense of pride

Downtown San Jose came alive last weekend with the second running of the Grand Prix experiencing incredible success. The race’s leadership of Don Listwin, Dale Jantzen and Bob Singleton stuck to their word and made changes to the track and fan amenities that resulted in a terrific event for everyone who attended. The race was also broadcast nationally on NBC and internationally resulting in extraordinary visibility for the city.

Over the years I have become convinced that when the city hosts an event like the national figure skating championships, the NHL All-Star Game or NCAA basketball tournament, there is a surge of civic pride that makes residents feel proud of their city. People expect a major urban area to host extraordinary events like the Grand Prix. These events become part of the urban experience and offer a diversity of opportunities for residents and visitors to attend.

Get set for some other major activities the remainder of the summer including the San Jose Jazz Festival, ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge, and the Dew Action Sports Tour. Before you know it Stanford will be playing football at Spartan Stadium against San Jose State and just around the corner the Sharks – with perhaps their best team ever - will begin preseason training.

Who would have guessed 10 years ago we would have such a variety of choices to consider?

Dean Munro
Executive Director

With improvements to pedestrian flow and general admission viewing areas given most of the credit, officials of the Grand Prix of San Jose said it was even more successful than the inaugural event last year.

French driver Sebastien Bourdais, who won the 2005 Grand Prix, successfully defended his title. But this time, track improvements permitted much more passing and action on the race course. The weather was superb for the three-day event, and it appeared that many bars and restaurants were able to take advantage of the tens of thousands of people who attended.

Key Sports Authority staff members Dean Munro, Patricia Ernstrom and Stacy Wong will be in St. Paul, Minn., Aug. 16-19 as that city hosts the Visa Championships of USA Gymnastics. They will attend with Jim Goddard, general manager of HP Pavilion and that facility’s marketing staff. The delegation will have a major presence at the annual National Congress and Trade Show.

The Visa Championships will be held next summer in HP Pavilion on Aug. 15-18, 2007 and the Sports Authority will be heavily involved in marketing of the event. San Jose hosts the nation’s top gymnasts one year before they compete in Beijing, China at the 2008 Olympic Games.

The Sports Authority has created an 11-member “street team” to help market the Dew Action Sports Tour, which returns to HP Pavilion on Sept. 7-10.

Our Dew Crew is composed of local college students who will attend weekend events, visit schools and skate parks, work with local businesses and the city’s parks and recreation department to spread the word about the event.

Twenty-eight national teams converge on San Jose’s DoubleTree Hotel from Aug. 16- 26 for the 2006 IBSF World Snooker Team Championships, the first major snooker competition to be held in this country.

Snooker is a billiards game played with 22 balls and was invented by British troops serving in India in the 19th Century. The game’s name comes from a derogatory term for first-year cadets at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, England. Competing in San Jose will be three-man teams representing Australia, India, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, the Isle of Man, England, South Africa, Thailand, the Netherlands, Scotland, Scandinavia, Japan, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada.

San Francisco’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games is one of three still alive since the U.S. Olympic Committee last month trimmed the list of American bidding cities from five. Also surviving the cut were bids by Los Angeles and Chicago. Houston and Philadelphia were eliminated.

The San Francisco proposal would include competitions in San Jose and elsewhere in the Bay Area. The USOC has given the cities until March to refine their bids. In the meantime, it is expected to decide this fall whether it should pursue the 2016 Games for the United States. If so, one bid city will be selected in 2009.

The 2006 USTA Girls’ 18 Nationals will be played at Almaden Valley Athletic Club from Sunday through Aug. 13 drawing the top teen-age tennis players in the United States.

The tournament draw is 192 players for singles and 96 for doubles and both amateurs and professionals are eligible.

Last month’s First Tee of San Jose Invitational presented by AT&T was completely subscribed and raised more than $60,000 for the Sports Authority’s youth golf and character development program.

Visit here to see photo coverage of the annual benefit tournament held at CordeValle Golf Club.