Community Promotion & Tourism

Village Hall Village of Lombard 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Community Promotion & Tourism Trustee Mike Fugiel, Chairperson, Trustee Bill Johnston, Alternate Chairperson, Jill Payne, Marguerite Micken, Joe Orsolini, Lori Solyom, Nancy Schukat, Phil Dahm and Bill Mrazek Ex-Officio Members: Yvonne Invergo - Lombard Chamber of Commerce; Beth Marchetti - DuPage Convention & Visitors' Bureau; Yorktown Merchants' Association - Todd Hiepler; Neil De Guia - Embassy Suites; M. Jimenez - Extended Stay Deluxe; Randy Kline - Stay Inn; Nilesh Pandey - Hyatt Place; Karen Borris - Marriott Fairfield Inn; Homestead Village; Frank Balisteri - Comfort Suites; Cynthia Ivey - Marriott Residence Inn; Nick Hefner - Towne Place Suites; Mike Feigenbaum - The Westin Hotel Tuesday, May 2, 2017 7:00 PM Village Hall Community Room 1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Trustee Mike Fugiel. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Jill Payne. 2.0 Roll Call Present 5 - Mike Fugiel, Marguerite Micken, Jill Payne, Nancy Schukat, and William Mrazek Absent 3 - Joe Orsolini, Lori Solyom, and Phil Dahm Also present: Carmel MacNamara-Ludwig, Firebirds Soccer Club, Yvonne Invergo, Lombard Chamber of Commerce and Nicole Aranas, Committee Liaison. 3.0 Public Participation None. Village of Lombard Page 1 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes May 2, 2017 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Nancy Schukat, seconded by Jill Payne, to approve the minutes of the March 7, 2017, committee meeting. The motion passed by unanimous vote. 5.0 Old Business None. 6.0 New Business 170208 Local Tourism Grant Application 2017 - Firebirds Soccer Club Grant request from the Firebirds Soccer Club in the amount of $10,440.00 from Hotel/Motel funds for expenses related to hosting a U8-U15 soccer tournament August 8-20, 2017. Carmel MacNamara-Ludwig presented the Local Tourism Grant application to the committee. The Club is holding their first tournament in Lombard and is asking for consideration of a grant of $10,440 by the committee. The Club is basing their counts and projections on their experience with other tournaments they have attended. They are anticipating 100 teams to enter the tournament. Players from local clubs will attend, but the club is also expecting clubs from beyond the immediate area and from other states. The Firebirds visited out of state tournaments last year where teams came from near and far. Families of the players would also attend. Games can start very early with kids expected to be on the field as early as 6:00 a.m. With the expectation that children are ready and on the field very early for play, even local clubs may wish to spend the night locally in hotels close to the field. The club also plans to market the other things to do in the area, including shopping and activities to do with the kids, such as Paradise Bay waterpark. Committee Member Marguerite Micken inquired about the other events in Glen Ellyn and asked if Carmel knew how much the other community clubs have been able to draw. Carmel responded that Glen Ellyn had people from other states. Oak Brook’s tournament was so large they used fields in Oak Brook and a neighboring community. Chairperson Mike Fugiel commented he worked with a similar event in Park Ridge accommodating 200 teams. Here they would grow to increase the number of fields, which is the limiting factor. Committee Village of Lombard Page 2 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes May 2, 2017 Member Bill Mrazek asked if they will get a room block for hotels? Carmel responded that their next step is to reach out to the DCVB. We want to reach out to other club teams as soon as possible and advertise the hotels and the services. The club is considering waterpark passes and food packages to encourage people to spend the weekend in Lombard. Yvonne Invergo of the Lombard Chamber of Commerce suggested they include promotion of Enchanted Castle and Cruise Nights. Chairperson Mike Fugiel stated they should also include information about local restaurants and other places to go and things to do. Bill Mrazek commented he attended a similar tournament with his kids and they often stayed in room blocks. Carmel stated the club is starting off small with a reasonable number at 100 to see what we feel like we can handle and we hope to grow from there. Bill Mrazek asked if there is competition for you? Carmel’s response was that Elmhurst did a similar pre-season tournament and we have nothing competing on the dates we have selected. Marguerite Micken commented that it would be wise for the club to contact DCVB in order to obtain information to include in the materials you send out. Carmel noted since the club submitted the application they have considered the question about how they could incorporate something for the community in the tournament, such as a donation to one of the charities. Maybe the food pantry or we can get the children to do something in the community. The club would like to include something specific on how they can give back to the community. They are aware other grant recipients have given back to the community and the club would want to do the same thing. Marguerite Micken asked if the tournament will take place over two days? Carmel responded the tournament would take place over three days. Committee Member Jill Payne asked if the club has sponsors? Carmel responded that yes they have some local sponsors already. Marguerite Micken questioned if the club has an agreement with the Park District? Carmel responded yes. Chairperson Mike Fugiel stated that this is the first time the committee is venturing into Local Tourism grants of sporting events and that the committee is interested in branching out to this type of event. There are other opportunities and this would be a good beta test for other local sports teams. Yvonne Invergo stated she feels this sounds like a good thing for Lombard and that the estimates of the club sound conservative and this is a good starting point. Chairperson Mike Fugiel stated the DCVB estimates are that guests spend at least $175 per night. Bill Mrazek asked if the club has a director of coaching? Carmel responded yes and he is reaching Village of Lombard Page 3 Community Promotion & Tourism Minutes May 2, 2017 out to contacts and trying to make sure that we will definitely make our 100 team mark. The club is confident about the 100 team count. The club is planning to even play through inclement weather but this time of year they are expecting the weather to be good. A motion was made by Nancy Schukat to approve the requested amount of $10,440 from Hotel/Motel funds. Jill Payne seconded the motion and the motion passed by unanimous vote. 150372 National Citizens Survey The committee will review the results of the joint meeting with the Village Board of Trustees. Nicole presented the results of the National Citizen Survey, including responses specific to the work of the CPT Committee. Specifically, the Committee noted that more than half of respondents stated that they had attended a Village sponsored event and that Village sponsored events were rated highly. 7.0 Other Business None. 8.0 Information Only None. 9.0 Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Bill Mrazek, seconded by Nancy Schukat, at 7:42 p.m. The motion was unanimously approved. Village of Lombard Page 4