BIG EVENT

The region’s top event planners come together to learn about Super-sized opportunities

By Steve Pate

Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 11:11am

ARLINGTON — Almost 500 professional event planners poured into Cowboys Stadium Thursday to hear how they can get involved in North Texas’ first ever Super Bowl.

North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee members Tara Green, Kit Sawers and Robbie Douglas fielded questions from Jay Burress, President of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau, at a luncheon for the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI).   

“We were thrilled to be able to spread the message among such an important audience,” said Sawers, the Host Committee’s VP/Special Events. “It’s a group that needs to know what’s going on, and through them we were able to reach a large number of people at once.”

The luncheon was held on the West End Zone’s Platform Level. Before the event, Burress smiled and said, “We’ve been getting a taste of some mega-events with the concerts we’re seeing, and we’re having the NBA All-Star Game coming up.

“But everybody knows that that Big One is looming in the future, and it’s only 500-plus days away…What a great time to be here in North Texas.”

The entire Super Bowl extravaganza involves parties and events sanctioned by the NFL, but also numerous independent events — such as the ESPN Party, the Playboy Party, the Sports Illustrated Party, the Hall of Fame Gala Dinner and so on.

Come to us for details, was the message from Green, the Host Committee’s VP & COO.

“We’re your liaison,” she said. “We’re your communications link.”

In that regard, Douglas invited those with women- and minority-owned businesses to come to this Host Committee official website (northtexassuperbowl.com) and click on the Emerging Business Program button.

“There is a full list of the products and services that will be procured,” said Douglas, the Host Committee’s Director of Business Development.

Directly following the luncheon, Douglas moderated a workshop in the stadium’s Media Interview Room, informing businesses how to get certified for the Super Bowl.

Probably the most eagerly anticipated question at the luncheon was the most fundamental for an audience of event planners: How do we get involved?

Besides the certification process for qualified emerging businesses, Sawers encouraged business owners to e-mail their information to info@northtexassuperbowl.com and to visit the northtexassuperbowl.com website.

“We need to have a collective database of everybody’s information,” Sawers said. She also suggested participation in MPI and hooking up with organizations that can open doors and stay abreast of the latest information.

“We all know it’s about hustling and thinking outside the box,” Sawers said. “We want to enable you to be able to do that.”

Sawers later emphasized, “You haven’t missed the boat on anything yet. Most of these events aren’t even planned until at the earliest six to nine months in advance. We’re talking next May. But get yourselves organized as a group to be able to access all these people that are coming to North Texas.”

Another topic involved the volunteer work so vital to putting on any Super Bowl.

“We have about 10,000 volunteer shifts that we must fill,” Green said. “Those shifts range to everything from airport greeters, hotel information desks, managing the NFL Experience, people for the ancillary events, the Host Committee events, volunteers for our major events.

“Go to northtexassuperbowl.com and register to volunteer.”