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Feb 21 2006, 06:02 PM
From: http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20060219/NEWS/102190025
Frisco to bid for disc golf championship
By HARRIET HAMILTON
Summit Daily News
February 19, 2006
FRISCO - The Frisco Town Council decided Tuesday to make an official bid to host the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championship in 2009.
Frisco special events and recreation coordinators Suzanne Burke and Seth Blackmer presented the council last Tuesday with a proposal to transform the town's existing 18-hole disc golf course on the Frisco Peninsula into a world class disc golf venue in order to attract the international event.
The PDGA, from its headquarters in Georgia, has sponsored the sport's world championship event annually since 1982 in locations around the U.S. Last year's professional competition in Allentown, Pa., featured more than 300 participants and a total purse of $72,000.
For Frisco to host the event, open to disc golfers by invitation only, four 18-hole courses would be required: one in Copper Mountain, one in Leadville and two in Frisco, and would most likely be held in late July or early August.
"This would make Frisco the central hub of world competition," Burke said. In order for a bid to be accepted by the PDGA, she added, Frisco would need to construct a second course at an estimated cost of between $1,000 and $10,000. The town already owns 18 extra disc golf baskets, she said, and an acceptable course could be designed near the existing one either on town-owned land or through an agreement with the Forest Service.
Burke told the council construction of a second sanctioned course in Frisco and improvement of the existing course would attract high level players to the peninsula during the time leading up to the world championship as well as afterward. The world championship itself involves associated events such as a vendor disc show and the PDGA Hall of Fame induction.
Kevin Metzler, owner of High Country Disc Golf, an event promotion company based in Arvada, brought the idea of hosting the world championship to the attention of the town last fall. Metzler, a former High Country resident, designed the disc golf course at Copper Mountain and was instrumental in the establishment of Frisco's course in 1997. His company has held the Peak One Championship event on the peninsula course since 2001. He said he sees Frisco as an excellent location for the weeklong world championship gathering.
"The amenities are great here," he said. "And the summer weather is incredible."
There is a possibility, Burke said, of the town hosting the professional world championship one year and the amateur world championship the succeeding year. According to the proposal, a successful bid would commit the town to an additional $1,000 above the cost of creating the second course for operating expenses for each world event planned.
Burke told the council potential benefits of hosting the competition include revenue from sale of concessions, economic benefit for town businesses and the possible development of the peninsula course into a pay-to-play venue.
"Aspen and Beaver Creek already have pay-to-play," she said. According to the PDGA, the majority of disc golf courses around the country are currently still free.
Councilmember Tom Looby expressed enthusiasm for the project.
"I really like the concept of utilizing recreation to improve economics," he said.
Metzler plans to present the town's proposal to the PDGA at its meeting next fall.
"We've missed the deadline for presenting it this spring," he said. At this point, he said, the earliest year possible to host a world championship would be 2009.
Town officials plan to meet with Metzler within the next few months, Burke said, to develop designs for the second 18-hole course. She and Metzler both emphasized the eventual course could be temporary or permanent and that actual construction of the new course would be contingent on acceptance of Frisco's bid by the PDGA.
Disc golf resembles regular golf: players throw a Frisbee-like disc at a target (or basket, in the case of Frisco's course) from a "tee." The goal is to require the fewest number of throws. It was formalized as a sport in the 1970s and its popularity has grown steadily.
Statistics compiled by the PDGA about its membership suggest the average serious disc golf player is between 30 and 39 years old, has a college degree and makes between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. He is also probably male. Ninety-two percent of the PDGA's 10,000-plus members are men.
Burke pointed out the low environmental impact of disc golf as a selling point for the sport.
"Disc golf in general promotes environmental stewardship," she said.
Frisco to bid for disc golf championship
By HARRIET HAMILTON
Summit Daily News
February 19, 2006
FRISCO - The Frisco Town Council decided Tuesday to make an official bid to host the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championship in 2009.
Frisco special events and recreation coordinators Suzanne Burke and Seth Blackmer presented the council last Tuesday with a proposal to transform the town's existing 18-hole disc golf course on the Frisco Peninsula into a world class disc golf venue in order to attract the international event.
The PDGA, from its headquarters in Georgia, has sponsored the sport's world championship event annually since 1982 in locations around the U.S. Last year's professional competition in Allentown, Pa., featured more than 300 participants and a total purse of $72,000.
For Frisco to host the event, open to disc golfers by invitation only, four 18-hole courses would be required: one in Copper Mountain, one in Leadville and two in Frisco, and would most likely be held in late July or early August.
"This would make Frisco the central hub of world competition," Burke said. In order for a bid to be accepted by the PDGA, she added, Frisco would need to construct a second course at an estimated cost of between $1,000 and $10,000. The town already owns 18 extra disc golf baskets, she said, and an acceptable course could be designed near the existing one either on town-owned land or through an agreement with the Forest Service.
Burke told the council construction of a second sanctioned course in Frisco and improvement of the existing course would attract high level players to the peninsula during the time leading up to the world championship as well as afterward. The world championship itself involves associated events such as a vendor disc show and the PDGA Hall of Fame induction.
Kevin Metzler, owner of High Country Disc Golf, an event promotion company based in Arvada, brought the idea of hosting the world championship to the attention of the town last fall. Metzler, a former High Country resident, designed the disc golf course at Copper Mountain and was instrumental in the establishment of Frisco's course in 1997. His company has held the Peak One Championship event on the peninsula course since 2001. He said he sees Frisco as an excellent location for the weeklong world championship gathering.
"The amenities are great here," he said. "And the summer weather is incredible."
There is a possibility, Burke said, of the town hosting the professional world championship one year and the amateur world championship the succeeding year. According to the proposal, a successful bid would commit the town to an additional $1,000 above the cost of creating the second course for operating expenses for each world event planned.
Burke told the council potential benefits of hosting the competition include revenue from sale of concessions, economic benefit for town businesses and the possible development of the peninsula course into a pay-to-play venue.
"Aspen and Beaver Creek already have pay-to-play," she said. According to the PDGA, the majority of disc golf courses around the country are currently still free.
Councilmember Tom Looby expressed enthusiasm for the project.
"I really like the concept of utilizing recreation to improve economics," he said.
Metzler plans to present the town's proposal to the PDGA at its meeting next fall.
"We've missed the deadline for presenting it this spring," he said. At this point, he said, the earliest year possible to host a world championship would be 2009.
Town officials plan to meet with Metzler within the next few months, Burke said, to develop designs for the second 18-hole course. She and Metzler both emphasized the eventual course could be temporary or permanent and that actual construction of the new course would be contingent on acceptance of Frisco's bid by the PDGA.
Disc golf resembles regular golf: players throw a Frisbee-like disc at a target (or basket, in the case of Frisco's course) from a "tee." The goal is to require the fewest number of throws. It was formalized as a sport in the 1970s and its popularity has grown steadily.
Statistics compiled by the PDGA about its membership suggest the average serious disc golf player is between 30 and 39 years old, has a college degree and makes between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. He is also probably male. Ninety-two percent of the PDGA's 10,000-plus members are men.
Burke pointed out the low environmental impact of disc golf as a selling point for the sport.
"Disc golf in general promotes environmental stewardship," she said.