Group aims to attract national sports, entertainment
The committee, dubbed the Westplex Sports and Entertainment Local Organizing Committee, will meet inside the former Mall at Wentzville Crossings and will serve St. Charles, Franklin, Lincoln and Warren counties.
Organizers say the group will capitalize on the area's many sporting and entertainment facilities by marketing them for events and then raising money and seeking volunteers to make sure those events are properly executed. As a result, regional tourism and sales would receive a boost.Civic leader and committee founder Ed Watkins said St. Charles County has needed such a committee for a long time, mostly because of what it has to offer.
Grammy winners, Hall of Famers and nationally acclaimed artists call the area home.
In the past 15 years, St. Charles County has also become home to the St. Peters Rec-Plex, T.R. Hughes Ballpark and Ozzie Smith Sports Complex, Family Arena in St. Charles, and Lindenwood Ice Arena in Wentzville.
Entertainment venue options have swelled in size, now including Ameristar Casino, St. Charles Convention Center, St. Charles Community College and Foundry Art Centre. Within the next year, residents can welcome a Cultural Art Center at Lindenwood University, a kart racing track and the Exodus, a family entertainment center promoting Christian values.
Watkins said the need to take advantage of these amenities is long overdue.
"We have to go after these things," Watkins said. "People make decisions on where to bring these (events) on a daily basis. We want to get more than our share of that."
Watkins, of St. Peters, is no stranger to campaigning. The founding member of the St. Louis Sports Commission, Sports St. Charles County and the Missouri Sports Office has been behind dozens of ideas and projects meant to benefit the St. Charles County area.
Recent crusades include the establishment of National Volunteers Work Center, which collects data and raises awareness of the power of volunteerism. Two months ago, the state solicited Watkins to lead a fundraising and volunteer effort that would allow for International Cycling's first Tour of Missouri. Since that time, with the help of National Volunteers Work Center members, $65,000 has been raised and 150 of the needed 300 volunteers are scheduled to help. The race, which begins locally near and finishes in St. Charles, is scheduled for Sept. 15. International Cycling hosts bike tours of Georgia and California. This is the first year for a Tour of Missouri.
But Watkins, in spite of his excitement for the event, said people are missing an important point: rather than the state contacting St. Charles County residents, St. Charles County residents need to be contacting the state.
"That's the best example of why we need (an organizing committee) - to seek out these things," Watkins said.
About a month ago, Watkins and committee co-founder and Wentzville Mayor Paul Lambi found a way to finally bring Watkins' dream to fruition. Mall at Wentzville Crossings owners Darain and Cory Atkinson agreed to provide the seed money to fund the cause and house it inside the building, where they currently house their businesses, National Auto Warranty Services and U.S. Fidelis.
Watkins said the National Volunteers Work Center also will be moved to the former mall, and the organization's 40 members will serve as committee board members. Watkins said he hopes to add about 10 more board members and to attract hundreds more ambassadors - a list that currently includes cycling legend John Howard and "Ultramarathon Man" Dean Karnazes.
The Atkinsons and John Whicker of Chevy's Fresh Mex will host the committee's grand opening event, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at the former mall, 100 Mall Parkway. Howard and Karnazes will help celebrate the committee's kickoff before competing in Tour of Missouri and the Lewis and Clark Marathon that follows that weekend.
Watkins said committee members hope the event will raise about $55,000 for the cause. The celebration will include a sports memorabilia auction, which he expects to raise at least $15,000. Other donations already total about $20,000, he said.
Watkins said sports and entertainment are big business, and both he and Lambi agree that the economic impact of an L.O.C. in St. Charles, Franklin, Lincoln and Warren counties will be huge.
"We have a lot going on out here that we need to capitalize. Tourism is an important part of St. Charles County," Lambi said. "(An organizing committee) has always been a need. It just took the right people at the right time to jump up and say, 'We'll do it.'"
