Just then ESPN created the X-Games. Although the sports they featured seemed juvenile, the concept of bringing together other "like" sports made a great deal of sense because you are no longer selling "windsurfing" but now you are selling "outdoor lifestyle". With some hard work and luck we were able to convince Nike ACG, Subaru, US Cellular and Outside Magazine to invest in the 1996 event. Over the next few years we struggled with sponsorship but managed to increase the budget and the size, as well as increase the notoriety of the event.

Why "The Gorge Games"? As an economic strategy, the Gorge is one economic area from Cascade Locks & Stevenson through The Dalles and Maryhill - one region that the recreational enthusiasts find a plethora of things to do and we wanted to highlight the whole region. If we were working on economic development and tourist related programs we would market the region as a whole as our customers don't see county and state lines. We tried to place an event in each area without getting too far from the center hub. We had Mt. Biking in The Dalles for the first few years but had issues with land access. We would like to find something that would include The Dalles in the future. Also by creating it across the region we could grow the event to bring considerably more people because they have the whole region to find a place to camp, lodge, B&B, home stay etc.

Why July? Many business owners have questioned the event being in July as we are very busy then anyway. Originally we chose July because we featured Snowboarding as an event and we wanted to be out of the June rains, still in the snow, have good wind for windsurfing/kiting and before we risked the forests being closed due to dry fire conditions. From the early years of this event we had raised considerable amount of money from corporations and we wanted to assure success. Since a rained out concert cannot be insured it became a risk intensive project with 10's of thousands on the line. When television came on board the level of risk increased to the 100 of thousands. When we invite the world to know the jewels of this region and film it for national and international television we cannot risk the weather. To date Gorge Games has never had an event not complete which was a major factor in the demise of the Gorge Pro-Am. Whether for wind, rain or dry forests, the six years of Gorge Games has not been shut down.

But we're full? As mentioned above, if the Gorge Games is set across the whole Gorge region and it is my belief that we are so "not full". Some areas are sold out but like other large events in rural areas that we have researched we have not created temporary campgrounds, done central reservations to help fill all hotel, motel, B&B and not opened up a home-stay program. It is important to let the event spill over into all the towns in the region.

What has Gorge Games accomplished over the past 6 years? The Gorge Games are a proven wining formula. They have been successfully executed 6 times. For 3 years they aired nationally on NBC Sports and achieved ratings in the 1.4 range indicating audiences of approximately 2 million viewers on each show 6 shows aired reaching a total of 12 million viewers in the US & Canada.

The television show was sold to 22 countries world wide and shown on United Airlines in flight service, Outdoor Life Network and Resort Sport Network.

We attracted the top athletes from around the world and with them attracted the international press. We have had print coverage in nearly all the national sport specific magazines, in USA Today, ESPN Magazine, Outside Magazine and numerous publications in Europe Asia and New Zealand. In 2002 we recorded over 140 million impressions through the event.

Most importantly we established this area as a major summer recreation destination in the hearts and the minds of outdoor recreation enthusiasts in the US, Canada and beyond. The image of the Gorge is now much broader than windsurfing and many people who visited here through the event have moved here and brought jobs. Others are now very aware of the beauty of the place and the quality of the venues enticing their vacation dollars.

Looking beyond the dollars that Gorge Games generates when people come to attend the event, work or volunteer at the event the overall marketing and branding done for the region is substantial. Whatever the numbers projected for economic impact the event has raised and spent close to a million per year, generated a large number of visits which is the best way to spawn more visits and the downtown merchants who were complaining about the level of business seem to have found more business.

Vision for the future. Since gaining the rights to the event back this fall we have been searching for a new vision and focus for the event. Over the past 3 years, we sold sponsorships in NY City boardrooms and learned it is difficult to give an East Coast based company a west coast image. The Governor of this state is wise in his goal to brand and market this state as a great state to visit and do business. With that in mind, we envisioned Gorge Games supported by Oregon/Wa based companies, Oregon & Washington Tourism and together we work our way to creating a true Outdoor World Championships.

Outdoor World Championships? In the past we have used this as a tag line because we wanted to grow into it and the use of the name was available. So how do we make it real. Using the present partnerships set up between Portland and Frankfurt Germany (Lufthansa) and the new hub created with Delta Airlines between Portland and Tokyo we would like to create qualifying events in these markets and others like New Zealand and Venezuela. Athletes will qualify to come to the World Championship being held here in the Gorge every year or every other year. By doing this we would be able to create a strong international television package by including the qualifying events combined with the Outdoor World Championships resulting in enough television shows to sell in the international market. In order for the international market to care about the shows it needs to create interest by having participants from the countries purchasing the shows .

Can we create the Wimbledon of Oregon?. - The Gorge Games - Outdoor World Championships
Is this too big a vision for this area? How can we create a support system so we have an event every year even though the level of the event changes? Does the region want to support? Do you want it here? Please fill out the following survey and give us your comments. Thank you.

form coding courtesy of thomasser.com