Tourism still an issue

Eric Keaton spent Wednesday handing out kumquats at the state's Interstate 75 welcome center just south of the Georgia state line.

Dressed in a bright orange polo shirt with the county's logo on it, Keaton, the county's tourism director, was trying to sell tourists on Pasco County through the tart pleasures of one of its signature crops.

Even as he pitched Pasco, Keaton acknowledged a crucial reality of today's tourism business:

"Our brand isn't just a logo that says, 'It's Only Natural,'

" Keaton said, referring to the slogan that reflects the long-held strategy of promoting Pasco's rural character.

Dade City kumquats, Zephyrhills parachutists and New Port Richey's Chasco Fiesta may be staples of Pasco's identity, but they don't produce the kind of tourism revenue a single weekend sports tournament can create.

"A lot of people in the county may not see it, but we've seen the positive effects of those numbers," Keaton said.

Pasco's plans to reinvent itself as a sports destination suffered a major blow last week with the news that Saddlebrook owner Tom Dempsey had walked away from a deal to build and run a county-financed national tennis center.

With their tennis stadium dreams in ashes, county officials are studying their options for promoting the county as a tourism destination. One thing appears certain: sporting events will continue to play a large role in bringing overnight visitors to Pasco.

County commissioners last week approved a 1-cent hike in the county's hotel bed tax, charged by hotels, motels, RV parks and any other businesses that offer overnight accommodations for terms up to six months. County officials hope the tax hike - the first change in the tourism tax since it was created in 1991 - will push the county's yearly tourism budget past $1 million.

The county's tourism fund now stands just shy of $12 million. About half that money is earmarked for tourism-related construction projects. Forty percent of the tourism funding now goes toward promotions, a ratio commissioners say they'll stick with for now. Tourism tax money cannot be used for non-tourism projects.

The county shares its promotions funds on a competitive basis. Wednesday was the opening day for applications for next year's funding. Anyone seeking promotions help next year will be ranked on a scale weighted heavily toward events that put visitors in local hotel beds.

The dream has not died

The county's long-held dream of making itself a go-to destination for tennis ended last week after Dempsey declined the county's request that he take on more of the risk related to the facility. In the contract he signed last year with the county, Dempsey agreed to give the county an option on more than $1 million in Saddlebrook condominiums as collateral against a potential default on Saddlebrook's end of the contract.

The county's dream of a hosting a sports complex hasn't died, however.

County commissioners will hear May 27 from officials with Sportsplex USA about the potential for a multiuse sports complex in the county. Commissioners turned to Sportsplex after failing to make a deal with its rival, Big League Dreams, which builds replicas of old-fashioned baseball parks.

Beyond Sportsplex, County Commission Chairman Jack Mariano said Dempsey recently introduced him to sports mogul Andrew Nestor, who hopes to relaunch professional soccer in the Tampa Bay area next year.

Mariano said he offered the county's tennis stadium property as the home base for such a team. Tampa's last professional soccer team, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, folded in 1993.

"To have his organization come forward would be a tremendous boon for the county," Mariano said. "I think we've got a lot to offer."

The county has spent nearly $60,000 on the tennis stadium so far - most of that on permitting. None of that money has gone to Saddlebrook, county officials said.

While county officials try to land their first sports complex, they remain committed to making Pasco the place for youth-league sports, including soccer and lacrosse, as well as more adult-oriented triathlons and duathlons.

The league events can bring thousands of players, their parents and families to Pasco for days at a time. A lacrosse tournament in January produced as much traffic for county hoteliers as the rest of the county's festivals and similar homegrown events combined, Keaton said.

Maggie Daniels, a sports tourism expert at George Mason University in Virginia, said Pasco's focus on drawing youth-league sports teams is a smart approach for a largely rural county.

"Even in a recession, parents will still spend money on their kids," said Daniels, who has studied sports tourism in rural areas of South Carolina.

Rural areas with sports facilities can benefit from tourism because more urbanized areas typically have too much demand from their own residents to free up ball fields and other public facilities for tournament play, Daniels said.

Lower costs could be a draw

Beyond soccer and lacrosse, Daniels recommends trying to lure softball, baseball and even bowling tournaments.

"It's mainly looking at those traveling teams," Daniels said.

Rural counties' lower costs - Pasco's 3-cent hotel tax is still less expensive than Hillsborough County's 5-cent one - can make them more competitive against their larger rivals as well, Daniels said.

There is a hitch, however.

In her study of sports tourism on the South Carolina-North Carolina border, Daniels found that while teams played their games in rural York County, S.C., they spent most of their downtime - and their money - in more urbanized Mecklenburg County, N.C., which, like Hillsborough County, is home to a major amusement park and other big-city attractions.

"The main issue is finding a way to keep the tourist dollars in your county," Daniels said.

She recommends timing tournaments with other local events, so athletes and their families will stay within the county during their hours away from the fields.

Pasco's other option for promoting itself would be to create a signature event, such as the Cooper River Bridge 10K run in Charleston, S.C., that will become a reason for people to visit. That's tough and can take a long time to accomplish, she said.

"It can be done," Daniels said. "You just have to get on the radar."