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Expo kicks off season in record fashion
Retailers report best sales ever
Was it the two free rounds of golf? Or was it the new venue? Or could it have been the marketing strategy? Maybe it was the giant golf sale with three local retailers? Chances are it was a combination of all of the above that saw over 4,300 golfers pass through the turnstiles at the Bartley Center Sports Complex on the campus of Holyoke Community College March 7-9 for the 2008 Golf, Sports, and Entertainment Expo presented by Tekoa Country Club. Golfers were treated to seminars, contests and vendors from the New England region selling their wares in record fashion.
The Expo began on Friday night which was a first for the Springfield area show. Normally a two day show in a small market this year Friday was added at the request of vendors. Over 700 golfers entered the show in the first three hours.
Two courses that stepped up to the plate to promote the show with a free round giveaway to all attendees were Tekoa Country Club in Westfield and Mill Valley Golf Links in Belchertown. This pre show promotion generated three times normal pre show ticket sales and countless hits to the westernmassgolf website. " Part of the reason for the free round promotion was the instant data base of golfers we gained, something that would take us years to build on our own", says Tim Kurty, owner of Mill Valley. "We also wanted to get our name in front of as many golfers as we could and the promotion did that and then some", he added. For Tekoa Country Club in Westfield they were coming off their best season in a long time and for the second year were the event sponsor. "We want to remain in the forefront of promoting not only our own golf course but golf in Western Mass and this event does that for us", said E.J. Altobello, head pro at Tekoa Country Club. "Last year we volunteered to get the Western Mass Golf Hall of Fame event off the ground and that event in terms of exposure for our course was tremendous".
Also contributing to the increased attendance was the new venue. Moving from the Basketball Hall of Fame to the Bartley Center was a tough choice for Western Mass Golf to make but a smart one. "We are happy to support the HCC College golf team and I am sure they will be happy with their new equipment", tells Shirley Nomakeo, President of Western Mass Golf and promoter of the event. She went on to explain that as part of their agreement with the college Western Mass Golf was to provide golf bags with the college logo for all golf team members. "The team went above and beyond what we asked and as a result we rewarded them all with a dozen Titleist Pro V1 golf balls", adds Nomakeo.
Also adding to the attendance were the inclusion of local high school teams that sold packages including tickets to the show and the sale of the Western Mass Golf Calendar. Three teams contributed and were rewarded with golf equipment for their teams. The Westfield High School golf team and the West Springfield Golf team each sold 76 packages and earned $608 for their team. The top seller on both teams earned a 2008 Junior golf membership to Tekoa Country Club.
"We look forward to the Expo and expanding our help to other area teams next year and especially to the HCC golf team. Our efforts will begin in a couple of weeks for the 2009 event and we hope we can get more local courses involved next year", exclaimed Shirley Nomakeo.
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New Expo location well received by exhibitors and attendees.
In the last five years the Golf, Sports and Entertainment Expo has had three venue changes looking for a permanent home. If this weekends turnout is any indication of future success, we may have found our new home.
The event, created by the American Lung Association over fifteen years ago has had many venues and owners and in recent years has had to deal with the declining popularity of golf. According to the National Golf Foundation only 8% of the population plays golf and less than half of that amount plays regularly.
Everyone can remember the early days of the Expo at the Big E where it was not unusual to have 5,000-7,000 attendees come through the turnstiles. I vividly remember the aroma, left over from the housing of cattle in the same building that the Expo occupied, as I pounded balls into a net looking for a new driver. At the time one young Tiger Eldrick Woods was competing in Los Angeles in a PGA Tour event at the ripe old age of 14. When he turned pro five years later, the media made him the darling of golf and the game, in the terms of popularity, golf was at its pinnacle.
The second year of the Expo, The American Lung Association teamed up with promoter Dave Appleman and they took advantage of the rise in popularity of golf and the expo set records for attendance sometimes topping 15,000. In those years it was not uncommon to have over 100 vendors hawking the latest and greatest golf had to offer. It seamed golfers were willing to shell out $400.00 each and every year for a new driver that companies touted as the longest and straightest. We all remember the "Big Bertha" driver and the "Ping"putter.
As the Golf Expo numbers began to dwindle, promoter Dave Appleman decided to give the Expo a year to rest with the hope of bringing it back the next year. Local celebrity Fred King of WARE radio and an avid golfer entered the world of golf promotion and with only eight weeks of preparation time put together the Expo at the Big E with over 40 vendors and attracted a crowd of over 1,000 golfers.
The next year King teamed with Western Mass Golf in a new venue at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. The combination worked as over 3,000 attendees were treated to a combined offer of golf and the new "Hall of Fame" museum. The event, over three days brought in over $100,000 in revenues to the businesses that are housed in the complex. The Golf Expo was the first trade show to occupy Center Court and led to the Hall of Fame booking the area for future events almost immediately.
The Golf Expo soon outgrew the Hall of Fame and was looking for a new venue in which to call home. The event was now completely run by Western Mass Golf.
By chance I took my daughter to the Holyoke Community College soccer field to run around and noticed the sports complex that is only a few years old. After a tour the next week we asked to include the college golf team in our plans for the 2008 Expo and a deal was made.
The 2008 Expo was the most attended Expo in ten years as over 4,000 golfers flocked to the campus. There was no sign of a slowing economy as all three retailers at the show reported record sales.
The expo was given a boost by two country clubs that gave a free round of golf to all attendees. Tekoa Country Club in Westfield and Mill Valley Golf Links in Belchertown were the recipients of the data gathered from the expo and will use that data to reach golfers all year round. Tekoa Country Club was the title sponsor for the last two years and when it comes to promotion no one in western Mass does more than Tekoa CC. They also had their best year in a long time last year and they credit that to their sponsorship of local events. Tekoa Country Club is also the host site for the Western Mass Golf Hall of Fame that kicked off last year.
With over 20,000 square feet of space the sports complex is the perfect site for a sports expo. The driving range was constructed by using the existing batting cages used by the college baseball and softball teams that are lowered from the ceiling. That allows for 14 bays in which to hit balls. The complex also has free parking and over 1,000 parking spaces surrounding the complex.
The Expo was also instramental in the local economy as two restaurants in the area reported traffic from the show. Dino's Restaurant and JP'S Restaurant had noticable new business from attendees and want to further their involvement in the expo in future years.
Another benefit of the HCC campus is the proximity to route 91 and the Mass Pike. That allowed visitors from six states to travel conveniently.
With only two minor complaints it is safe to say the the Expo in Holyoke is here to stay.
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