Madison Area Sports Commission: Celebrates one-year anniversary

Contact: Judy Frankel PR and Communications Manager, 608.441.3958 or frankel@visitmadison.com

(Madison, WI) The Madison Area Sports Commission (MASC) is proud to announce the celebration of their first anniversary in September 2011. MASC was created in September 2010 as an offshoot of the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau. And, as MASC continues to grow, it has been quite an auspicious start.

“The first year’s results of the work of the Madison Area Sports Commission board and team have been extraordinary. It’s clear that there is interest in the Madison area as a sports destination and we now have the mechanism in place to serve the needs and expectations of sports event planners, and generate high ROI business for the destination,” commented Deb Archer, President and CEO of the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“We’ve had some incredible events like the USA Cycling Collegiate National Championships, Centurion Cycling, the 10th Anniversary of the Ford Ironman Wisconsin and the inaugural Ironkids triathlon event. More importantly, we’re making sure that everyone realizes what a great sports town Madison is, how great our local people are, and how critical sports tourism dollars are to our overall economy,” added MASC Director of Sports Jamie Patrick.

Moreover, MASC has been able to achieve a significant give back to the local community through the MASC Youth Grant Program. The mission of the MASC Youth Grant Program is to provide opportunities for area youth, who may have financial limitations, to experience the benefits of sports.

To date, MASC has funded more than 250 youth with grants have helped these youth benefit from an introduction to sports.

“We’ve been able to fund 80% of our applicants to date, said Patrick We are excited to be able to make significant contributions to those organizations creating a sizeable impact in these children’s lives,” Patrick noted.

“The direct financial support of municipal partners including Middleton, Fitchburg and Verona in addition to funding provided by Dane County, has created a great opportunity for the Sports Commission to proactively engage in efforts to increase total Dane County visitor spending by securing strategic sporting events for our region,” said MASC Board of Director Chairman Joel Weitz.

MASC is the greater Madison area’s official sports marketing organization. Launched by the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau, MASC is charged with elevating the recognition and awareness of the impact of sports tourism on the regional economy while serving the unique needs of the sports tourism business.

For more information, please visit www.madisonsports.org .