Rogers draws foundations, religious organizations, baseball players to city

ROGERS -- Several religious conferences, a Walmart meeting, a baseball championship and an educational conference are in the works for the city in coming months.

The Advertising and Promotions Commission approved several requests for convention and event funding during a meeting on Wednesday. The requests had stacked up since the commission failed to meet in September.

The commission approved giving $10,000 to the 2017 Walmart Planning Year Beginning Meeting set tentatively for Feb. 12-16. Although the meeting took place in Rogers before, it was in other cities in recent years.

Commissioner Matt Disheroon questioned whether the event would only take place in Rogers if the $10,000 was awarded.

The money offsets room rental, said J.R. Shaw, executive director of Visit Rogers.

Shaw said the commission was looking forward to bringing the meeting back. It's expected to fill 1,600 hotel rooms with project and construction managers who will meet to plan for the rest of the year.

Commissioner David Faulkner said funding the full request would work out to about $5 room nights, which he thought was fair.

The American Premier Baseball Association requested $12,000 for its 2018 13U Championships and was approved for $10 per room nights as recommended by the commission.

"We want to come to Northwest Arkansas because we enjoyed it last time," said Mike Greninger, who represented the baseball association. "As we've grown the event in other cities, we'll grow it here. We're going to be good to our partners, select Rogers hotels and get them full."

The national championship tournaments are a multi-property, citywide event that anticipates using 1,200 or more hotel rooms, according to meeting documents. It's planned for either June 13-17 or June 20-24. Previous tournaments as many as 2,900 room nights.

Greninger said the commission could expect to see guests of the championship spill over into other cities as well.

Shaw said the event could be grown over several years and it fits nicely into soft periods at the end of summer.

The Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education requested $23,000 for its 2018 annual conference and was instead approved for $10 per room night. The conference is for teachers, administrators and parents of gifted children. It will be Feb. 27 through March 2 and will likely bring 250 room nights.

Shaw said it happens at a desirable time frame and he doesn't want the group to return to its previous locations in central Arkansas.

The commission was competing with Des Moines, Iowa; Dayton, Ohio; Peoria, Ill.; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Springfield, Mo., for the 2020 Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Conference planned tentatively for July 14-20 or July 21-27 of 2020.

The United Methodist Renewal Services Fellowship requested $15,000 and was approved for that amount, with the option of $10 room nights for expenses beyond that sum. The conference brought more than 1,700 room nights in 2016.

Peoria offered the conference $38,000, but Shaw said the event was in Rogers in 2005 and hoped to return.

Commissioner Faulkner said it was a good piece of business to go after. It would also fill rooms at a slow time of year.

The commission also approved the Great Plains Leadership for Christ's request for $10,000 for its 2018 Youth Training on March 30 and April 1.

"It's a nice chunk of business at an otherwise quiet time, and it's been here for several years," Shaw said.

Arkansas Youth for the Pentecostal Church was awarded $10,000 for the 2017 Holiday Convention, which focuses on worship, encouragement and motivation for 2,000 youth. It will be Dec. 27-29 this year and is expected to bring more than 700 room nights.

The commission approved the Poultry Foundation's request of $2,500 for the 2017 Processors Workshop. The foundation is the largest repeat visitor to the city, Shaw said.

NW News on 10/05/2017

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