Tulsa Bassmaster organizers turn focus to Grand Lake

BY KELLY BOSTIAN World Outdoors Writer
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
2/28/12 at 5:12 AM

Watch videos, read blog posts, stories and more from the 2012 Bassmaster Classic in Louisiana.

The scouting trip is done, now the real work of putting together the 2013 Bassmaster Classic begins for residents of Tulsa and the Grand Lake area.

Twenty-five representatives of the communities returned Monday with a focus that now turns from the 2012 event in Shreveport-Bossier City, La., to what is needed back at home.

"We had a great trip. We learned a ton," said Jeff Stava, chairman of the local organizing committee that will work with VisitTulsa, Tulsa Sports Commission and BASS to prepare for the show.

In the short term, the group has 25 detailed notebooks kept by members of the committee while in Shreveport in which they noted by venue and category any details they felt might be important.

"We're going to assimilate all the books into a form that summarizes that information, and then we start planning what we want for Tulsa," Stava said.

The LOC will divide into two main groups and eventually about eight different subcommittees tasked with specific areas that need to be addressed, from volunteer recruitment and hospitality to marketing and promotion to traffic and safety.

"And of course we have an incredible sports commission, and all members of the commission and staff will be shadowing and helping along the way. We have a lot of people resources to coordinate and start putting all budgets together in next 60 days," he said.

The existing event venues in Tulsa, the BOK Center and Convention Center, are managed by SMG Corp. The Tulsa LOC will coordinate with SMG but, essentially, local committees will be responsible for planning everything up to the doors of those facilities, traffic, parking, crowd control, etc.

"We'll also be looking at providing transportation from the BOK and hotels to other parts of Tulsa so people can easily find places to eat and entertainment," he said.

A Grand Lake subcommittee will have to focus on what is needed to accommodate more fans than have ever attended a boat launch there.

"We gathered a lot of details in Shreveport trying to understand what kind of facility is needed, looking at how the boats are backed in, how much space is needed, how the crowds lined those ramps and how important it was for them to maintain contact and interactions with the pros," Stava said. "We need to design our temporary systems to accommodate that kind of fan engagement."

Another major aspect is fundraising.

"We will need to raise in excess of $1 million in sponsorship dollars," he said.

While different projects will progress on different timelines, Stava said the process could be looked at as two phases, with six months focused heavily in planning and six months devoted to execution.

"Once you have the plan, you get tactics worked out and then you have to execute," he said. "We've got 12 months from the last weekend. As we get closer to the event everything has to be working and moving forward."

2013 Bassmaster Classic

Tulsa-Grand Lake

Feb. 22-24, 2013

Launch: Grand Lake of The Cherokees

Weigh-in: BOK Center

Expo: Tulsa Convention Center

Original Print Headline: Tulsa reps turn focus to Grand bass event

Kelly Bostian 918-581-8357
kelly.bostian@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Edwin Evers fishes in the final day of the Bassmaster Classic on Sunday in Shreveport, La. Evers finished eighth in the event. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World

Fans cheer during a boat launch on the final day of the Bassmaster Classic on Sunday. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World