Kansas City is “Thrilled to be Afforded Honor” of Hosting NCAA VB

Four schools, roughly 100 players and coaches and team affiliates, many alma maters and clubs, plus families, friends and many more individuals are participating in and watching the NCAA Volleyball Championships, but all of that pales in comparison to the hundreds of individuals and multitude of man hours that go into planning such an event.

To find out what it takes to pull off a successful NCAA Championship, we reached out to Mike Sharpe of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation, about the process since 2013 when Kansas City and the Sprint Center were awarded the 2017 hosting responsibilities.

“Kansas City is absolutely thrilled to once again be awarded the opportunity by the NCAA to host this prestigious championship,” Sharp said. “We do not take lightly the fact that we have been afforded this honor and work diligently to make sure that the student-athletes, coaches, school administrators, and fans visiting our city have a positive and memorable experience during their time here.”

Sharp also sat down for a short Q&A detailing the behind the scenes workings of the championship.

What is the impact on the hosting community financially and otherwise?

An event of this magnitude brings the national spotlight to our city throughout the volleyball season leading into the Championship.  We are very fortunate in receiving tremendous support from our City leadership for events like these, which strengthens our ability to show off  our town at a national level and introduce visitors to our great city.  This event also allows for our passionate volleyball community to relish in hosting this prestigious event and take pride in what our city has to offer.  Economically the impact for this event has been estimated at about 8.7 million by our visitors association.

What is the process from start to finish once a host site is announced? 

Planning for us started the day we were awarded the Championship.  We began by engaging many members of our community to serve on our Local Organizing Committee (LOC) to assist us in beginning the planning process.  We had representatives in attendance at the VB Championships in Omaha, Nebraska, two years prior and then a larger contingent attended the Championship in Columbus, Ohio, last year.  These visits allowed us the opportunity to get eyes on the event and see what worked well logistically and what maybe didn’t so we could build upon event strengths and eliminate the weaknesses.

Our ticketing and marketing plans were developed, implemented and executed more than 12 months from our date to host.  By starting early we were able to track the progress and make modifications as the event date approached.

We began monthly LOC meetings about six months prior to the event, after our key internal operations folks (venue/hotel/city) had been having regular meetings months prior.  We were in constant communication with NCAA staff and personnel throughout the planning process to make sure we were meeting their expectations and sharing event concepts/ideas.

How many staff members does it take to put the event on besides volunteers? 

From the Kansas City Sports Commission we have one individual who serves as the main point of contact and tournament manager, she is supported by myself through budget monitoring and enhancement fulfillment, our Director of Marketing who oversees and manages the media buys and marketing schedule.  We have a social media manager who monitors and posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  We have an additional five event managers who have various responsibilities throughout the week as well.

Obviously, the nine of you can’t do it all alone. How many volunteers will contribute to pulling this event off? 

We are very fortunate to have an extensive volunteer database who have been affiliated with our organization for multiple years in assisting us with our efforts in hosting major events.  In total we have a little over 200 community volunteers who have specific roles to assist us in executing all the many facets associated with hosting this event.  We have volunteers manning Fan Information tables at local hotels, assisting with our pre-match pep rallies, operations of the volleyball Fan Fest, etc. Our volunteers are vital to the events we host, not only in their assistance and expertise – but in helping to represent our city to all the visitors helping to make everyone feel welcomed.

What is the anticipated crowd for this year’s event?

The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship is nearing a sellout. Tickets sold to date are 18,351.  This is a national championship attendance record.  The previous record was held by Omaha, Nebraska, in 2015 with 17,561 in attendance.  There are limited tickets remaining in Kansas City for sale through the NCAA Experience.

By The Numbers

9 – full-time employees with the Kansas City Sports Commission working to put on the championships

48 – months of planning since Kansas City was selected to host Dec. 11, 2013

200 – Community volunteers that will serve in various roles over the three day event

10,500 – hotel rooms projected to be used for the three days of the championships

14,032 – tickets sold for 2010 NCAA Volleyball Championships in Kansas City

18,351 – tickets sold to date for the 2017 NCAA Volleyball Championships, which will be a national championship attendance record, surpassing 17,561 in Omaha in 2015

$8.7 million – estimated economical impact on the Kansas City community from hosting the championships (VisitKC)