News Release
For Immediate Release, February 2, 2012
For more information:
National Sports Center - Barclay Kruse
NSC Chief Communications Officer
763.785.5634
bkruse@mnsports.org
Blaine, Minn. (February 2, 2012) – At the National Sports Center (NSC) in Blaine a new 20,000 square foot Sport Expo Center is currently under construction. And in keeping with the NSC’s proven formula for success, they are busy creating their own events to fill the new facility.
“At the NSC we don’t just wait for customers to call up to rent our space. We create our own programs, our own business streams. It’s one of the key elements to our success over the years,” said NSC Chief Administrative Officer Kris Bjerkness.
Even before the doors have opened, the NSC sales and programming staff is developing a full schedule of sports expositions that will provide anchor programming for the new Sport Expo Center at the Schwan Center on the NSC campus.
The first event will be Tom Helgeson’s Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo, March 23-25, followed by the inaugural Minnesota Bass Expo, April 20-22. For both events, 2012 will be a transition year. With the Sport Expo Center not projected to open until June, both shows will utilize existing space at the NSC, but will move into the new building in 2013 and beyond.
“We’ve known all along that the new Sport Expo Center wouldn’t be completed in time to host these two outdoor shows this year,” said Expo Director Greg Savino. “But we have existing space on our campus to accommodate these events in 2012, so we’re moving ahead with our business plan. After the new building becomes available, shows like this will be already established and well positioned to grow in 2013 and beyond. They’ll be bigger and better.”
In addition to providing ideal space for shows and expositions, the new $3.2 million Sport Expo Center will provide additional indoor space for sports training and large meetings and events. The new building will be built adjacent to the west side of the existing Schwan Center. The Schwan Center is located on the north end of the NSC Stadium.
On the drawing board are other NSC-owned outdoor sports expos and shows that will provide critical program revenue to contribute to the success of the new Sport Expo Center. In July, the Expo Center will be the new home to the PUMA World Store during the Schwan’s USA CUP youth soccer tournament. The store was previously located in the Sports Hall.
The NSC is also busy recruiting rental events for the new facility as well. For example, the Midwest Family Pet Expo will be held October 6-7, 2012. This will be a first-time event for the NSC, an event the NSC would not have been able to host prior to the completion of the new Sport Expo Center.
About the Tom Helgeson’s Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo, March 23-25.
This year marks the second year that the Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo has been held at the NSC, in a partnership with the Tom Helgeson family. The event was started by Helgeson, a Minnesota fly fishing legend. Helgeson published Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine and was a leading conservationist and advocate for clean water and trout habitat preservation. Helgeson died of cancer in November of 2010. His family is dedicated to carrying on the Expo and Tom’s passionate advocacy for fly fishing in the Midwest.
Location: Schwan Center, the same location the show occupied in 2011, moving to the Sport Expo Center in 2013.
Hours: Friday, March 23, 2:30-7 p.m.; Saturday, March 24, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sunday, March 25, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $15/day or $30 for three days; Seniors, $12/day or $24 for three days; Students, $7/day or $14 for three days. 12 and under admitted free.
Features: fly fishing celebrities, seminars and classes, youth programs, travel destinations, new equipment, fly-tying demos, youth activities, environmental education.
About the Minnesota Bass Expo, April 20-22.
This inaugural event will give fishers a great opportunity to preview the latest tackle, electronics, gear and boats, just ahead of the opening of fishing season. This event will raise funds for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Location: NSC Sports Hall, moving into the Sport Expo Center in 2013.
Hours: Friday, April 20, 3 - 8 p.m.; Saturday, April 21, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sunday, April 22, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $12/day or $20 for three days; Seniors, $8/day or $16 for three days; Students, $6/day or $12 for three days. 12 and under admitted free.
Features: bass fishing celebrities, seminars and classes, guide services, boats, youth programs, travel destinations, new equipment, fly-tying demos, kids fishing pond, Midwest’s largest used fishing boat sale.
About the new Sport Expo Center
The total space of the new addition is projected to be 21,420 square feet, with a single clear-span room with projected dimensions of 100 feet x 180 feet (18,000 square feet) and a 26-foot high ceiling. The facility will be able to accommodate up to 130 exhibit booths.
The new space will be approximately one-third the size of the existing NSC Sports Hall.
The new Sport Expo Center will be adjacent to the 15,500 square-foot Schwan Center, which offers meeting rooms for small groups up to 300-person capacity events. The two facilities together will provide an ideal venue for shows and expos, with the new addition best suited for exhibit booths and the existing Schwan Center providing space for meetings, seminars and banquets.
The new facility will be financed with the City of Blaine’s authority to issue conduit financing. No city funds or any other public money will be used on this project; the revenue from the new facility will be used to service the financing, which will be provided privately. The involvement by the City of Blaine allows the NSC to get a tax-exempt interest rate.
Release originally published here.
On a personal note, we feel this new Sport Expo Center will enhance property values for Blaine Real Estate.