A delegation led by Sykes Enterprises Inc. chief executive officer Chuck Sykes is headed for New York on Wednesday for a presentation related to Tampa Bay's effort in hosting FIFA World Cup soccer matches in either 2018 or 2022.
The Bay area delegation also includes Tampa Bay & Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Catoe, its senior vice president of marketing Diane Jacob, Mise En Place owner and restaurateur Maryann Ferenc, Farrukh Quraishi, chief operating officer of Brock Communications and founding partner of Long View Management LLC, Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, and several other community leaders.
Several of those executives -- not including Sykes -- will stop first in Washington Tuesday to attend an "interested cities" workshop, the first stage in seeking a nod to host the 2012 Republican National Convention.
On the World Cup bid, Tampa Bay is one of more than two-dozen metros looking to bring either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament game home. Local advocates for the effort have been urging residents to go online and pledge their support by signing a petition to help energize the petition. If selected several years from now, Tampa's Raymond James Stadium would be one of 12 to 18 venues nationally to host the event.
Raymond James Stadium, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' home field, is also home for USF Bulls Division I football, and the venue hosts some of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s top football bowl games such as the ACC Championship Dec. 5.
The region has more than a dozen collegiate and amateur sports events on the winter calendar, according to Tampa Bay & Co., Hillsborough County's tourism marketing arm. The NCAA Woman's Volleyball Championship is scheduled for the St. Pete Times Forum Dec. 17 and Dec. 19.
As of Nov. 9, nearly 6,700 people had voted in support of bringing the games to the Bay area. A similar poll in Orlando had garnered nearly 3,100.
Efforts on behalf of the community go a long way in securing these bids, said Travis Claytor, communications manager with Tampa Bay & Co. Based on the petition, the USA Bid Committee will submit 20 cities to FIFA next year.
“A huge part of our presentation is community support, and it’s important to show how much the wider Tampa Bay community is behind effort,” Claytor said. “That’s a big part of what the petition is all about.”
In 2006, the World Cup tournament in Germany attracted 3.4 million spectators, averaging about 52,491 fans a game. It attracted about 2 million tourists who spent about $766 million.
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