The past eight years the National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships has enjoyed a very special relationship with its host city, Oklahoma City. Prior to arriving in OKC the NCHBC had moved five times during its first ten years including stints in San Antonio, TX, Estes Park, CO, and Santa Fe NM. The NCHBC experienced tremendous growth during the last eight years, growing from just over 100teams to more than 300 in 2008. “Our experience in OKC was tremendous. We benefited from the central location, the stability of being in the same location for eight years and the great people we worked with at the OCCVB, local colleges and area businesses. OKC has been experiencing a significant economic growth the last few years, culminating this summer the acquiring of an NBA Sonics team. We applaud these exciting events for the OKC but in the end the growth of both the tournament and the city made it necessary for us to look at other options for the championships starting in 2009” states Tim Flatt, Executive Director for the NCHBC.
“We carefully looked at ten cities and as of today we have a new home for at least the next three years. We are excited to announce our new host city is Springfield, MO” adds Flatt.
The NCHBC staff has worked very closely with the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) and the Springfield Sports Commission to make certain that the 2009 National Tournament will be a great experience for all teams and families that attend. Springfield was selected over ten other cities for the following reasons:
1) Facilities
2) Hotel Rates and Availability
3) The support of the CVB and Sports Commission
4) Location
5) Televised games
Facilities
Showcase and Championship Saturday -- The NCHBC has secured the use of the Hammons Student Center at Missouri State University for both Wednesday and Saturday. The Hammons Student Center has a capacity of 8,846. This will give room for growth as the Sawyer Center at SNU held 5,000 last year. Additionally, MSU is building a new facility that will seat 12,000 that will be a valid option if we out grow the Hammonds Center.
College Gyms - We will be using Evangel College, Drury University, Central Bible College and Baptist Bible College. These are all top quality college gyms that hold 1,500-3,500 fans and will be perfect for semi-final games.
Other Gyms - Springfield Public Schools and Springfield Parks and Recreation are making their gyms available for the NCHBC. The gyms will be a very significant upgrade from the gyms in OKC which have been very good the past few years.
Hotel Rates and Availability
One of the concerns about OKC was the continuing rise of hotel rates. The bottom line is that Springfield offers our families 800 plus hotel rooms less than $79.00 per night and another 800 between $80-89 per night. It is estimated that families will save over $300,000 in hotel costs in 2009.
IMPORTANT
The Springfield CVB has negotiated group rates with virtually every quality hotel in Springfield. These rooms will be offered via a special website starting Tuesday August 12 at 9:00 AM. We will post a link on the website and Blog, as well as send an e-mail with the link.
VERY IMPORTANT
It is very important that everyone either uses this service provided the CVB or notifies us if they chose to make other hotel arrangements. Let me explain why this is so important. The purpose of CVB is bring events to their city. Their effectiveness is measured in room nights. The more room nights the more the CVB is willing to do to help events. How does this affect you? In our agreement with the CVB there are certain arrangements that we have that are directly affected by room nights. The kinds of things that the CVB helps us with is the cost of the Hammons Student Center. Additionally if we want to move to the new facility this will be determined by the room nights we use. When the CVB covers cost for Hammons Student Center that allows us to use sponsor's funds to get our events on television.
The hotels listed on the CVB site give us the most credit but if you choose to stay somewhere else contact us and we will get some credit and may even be able to negotiate a better rate through the CVB.
Why are some hotels not listed?
1) We chose to not to list hotels with high attrition rates. Some hotels require you to pay for 80% of the rooms you hold whether you use them or not.
2) We chose to avoid hotels that are often rented by the hour more than the day.
3) We chose to not use hotels that were in unsafe or unseemly areas.
Televised Games
It is our plan to eventually have nine NCHBC games televised. This would include local, regional and national coverage. We are negotiating with various stations at this time. We are confident that we will work our way to nine games; however, we may have to start this year with 3-5 games televised. The number of games will be directly related to how much sponsor money we can direct toward this goal of increasing exposure. The funds for this project will come directly from the CVB sponsorship and fundraising through the Founders Club. Next week we will give you an update on the Founder's Club.
Central Location
The location of Springfield will be a tremendous asset in the continued growth of the NCHBC. The move will add an extra 200 miles for most Texas teams and an extra 280 miles for OKC, West Texas, New Mexico, AZ and CA . However, it will still be a one day trip (5-10 hours for most of the teams) for all teams that are currently a one day trip from this region. AZ and CA will remain a two day trip. The positive is that now almost every other team that attends Nationals will be able to get the in one day.
We believe that our biggest area for growth over the next few years is from the Midwest - Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa as we have been able to identify almost 200 teams from this region that don't currently attend Nationals. Now we are within a day's drive for virtually all of these teams and with your help we may be able to encourage many to attend.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Basketball Nationals is Moving
Due to the current economic conditions and unpredictable facility situations that Tim Flatt explained on the Nationals Conference Call, the NCHBC has opened entertained the possibility of eight cities hosting the 2009-2011 National Championships. We have talked to and or visited 8 cities in the last 5 weeks
Three cities have been eliminated:
1. Dallas
2. Wichita
3. Oklahoma City
The five remaining cities meet the following minimum criteria:
A. Within 350 miles of OKC
B. An arena that is available for next three years with a min capacity of 7,000
C. College arenas that can host semifinal games with min of 2,000 seating (must be nice setting)
D. The ability to start putting games on TV both local cable and National cable.
The next step for the cities is to compete on the following level:
A. Hotel capacity
B. Hotel Rates
C. Effectiveness of the CVB (Convention and Visitors Burea)
D. Secondary gyms
What is the process that we are waiting for?
A. CVB will send out leads to all hotels and lock in group rates
B. Gym contracts will be provided
C. Final commitments from the city concerning their participation will be made.
D. We will weigh the cities bids and eliminate cities that do not offer the best package
E. We will select the city, sign contracts, hold a press conference and notify you.
We will have a final announcement by August 15th
What should you do now?
A. Do nothing, even if you think you have an inside scoop, just wait. The key for us to build a long term relationship in a city is to work with the CVB.
B. Since there are numerous cities bidding you may here an inside scoop but it will more than likely be nothing more than I am telling you right now.
Three cities have been eliminated:
1. Dallas
2. Wichita
3. Oklahoma City
The five remaining cities meet the following minimum criteria:
A. Within 350 miles of OKC
B. An arena that is available for next three years with a min capacity of 7,000
C. College arenas that can host semifinal games with min of 2,000 seating (must be nice setting)
D. The ability to start putting games on TV both local cable and National cable.
The next step for the cities is to compete on the following level:
A. Hotel capacity
B. Hotel Rates
C. Effectiveness of the CVB (Convention and Visitors Burea)
D. Secondary gyms
What is the process that we are waiting for?
A. CVB will send out leads to all hotels and lock in group rates
B. Gym contracts will be provided
C. Final commitments from the city concerning their participation will be made.
D. We will weigh the cities bids and eliminate cities that do not offer the best package
E. We will select the city, sign contracts, hold a press conference and notify you.
We will have a final announcement by August 15th
What should you do now?
A. Do nothing, even if you think you have an inside scoop, just wait. The key for us to build a long term relationship in a city is to work with the CVB.
B. Since there are numerous cities bidding you may here an inside scoop but it will more than likely be nothing more than I am telling you right now.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Rumors, Rumors and more Rumors
Rumors are flying!
This morning I received five phone calls inquiring about the 2009 NCHBC moving from Oklahoma City. I heard that we were moving to Stillwater, OK, Dallas, TX and Shreveport, LA. I even received a call from the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau inquiring as to next year’s status due to the Sonics moving to OKC. Obviously they were concerned because we had planned to move to the Ford Center either this year or next and that would be out of the question now. This coupled with the fact that the Sonics will likely use SNU as their practice gym could make it unavailable to Nationals.
So what is going on? With all the rumors there must be at least some truth mixed in, right? Hmmm, those are very good questions and I would like to answer you right now but I all I can tell you that is nothing is set in stone. We are working on a number of very important and exciting things for 2009 and I will be prepared to make an official announcement on July 24th.
I will hold a conference call at 8:00 PM CST
1-218-339-2626
Access Code 704478
I have 600 lines reserved so anyone who wants to call in is welcome.
I will also post a blog when the phone call is over with the details.
So what should you do between now and next Thursday? Just wait because more than likely any action you take will likely have to be undone since things are still up in the air. Everyone will find out the final word at the same time and that will cut down on confusion, panic and rumors.
Talk to you next Thursday,
Tim Flatt
This morning I received five phone calls inquiring about the 2009 NCHBC moving from Oklahoma City. I heard that we were moving to Stillwater, OK, Dallas, TX and Shreveport, LA. I even received a call from the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau inquiring as to next year’s status due to the Sonics moving to OKC. Obviously they were concerned because we had planned to move to the Ford Center either this year or next and that would be out of the question now. This coupled with the fact that the Sonics will likely use SNU as their practice gym could make it unavailable to Nationals.
So what is going on? With all the rumors there must be at least some truth mixed in, right? Hmmm, those are very good questions and I would like to answer you right now but I all I can tell you that is nothing is set in stone. We are working on a number of very important and exciting things for 2009 and I will be prepared to make an official announcement on July 24th.
I will hold a conference call at 8:00 PM CST
1-218-339-2626
Access Code 704478
I have 600 lines reserved so anyone who wants to call in is welcome.
I will also post a blog when the phone call is over with the details.
So what should you do between now and next Thursday? Just wait because more than likely any action you take will likely have to be undone since things are still up in the air. Everyone will find out the final word at the same time and that will cut down on confusion, panic and rumors.
Talk to you next Thursday,
Tim Flatt
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Founder's Club
In June we announced that we would be introducing a number of new projects this summer. These projects are in conjunction with Nationals but they are also separate from our current Nationals Structure. We have decided to form the Founder's Club as a means to create and develop these projects. Here is an overview of the Founder's Club. Our next big announcement will come within the week.
This summer we have created The Founder’s Club. The Founder’s Club is named in honor of Dr. Jim Leininger. Dr. Leininger is a true entrepreneur and visionary who founded Homeschool Basketball Nationals. Dr Leininger has over 50 business ventures that included founding KC Worldwide and ownership in the San Antonio Spurs. Dr. Leininger was a homeschool dad and the coach of a National Championship FEAST Patriots teams in the early 1990’s.
The Founders Club is designed to be a tool that helps homeschool families and teams throughout the country. Additionally the Founder’s Club will raise funds to help promote the extra things that are important to the continued enhancement of the National Tournament. The Founder’s Club will be responsible for the Homeschool Showcase. “One of the things that the Founder’s Club does is helps programs that want to be more than just participants at Nationals become contributors. I think the long term health of Nationals will be directly impacted by how many programs want to roll up their sleeves and work with the Founder’s Club” states Tim Flatt, the Executive Director of the NCHBC. “We have tried to design this club in a way that is consistent with how Jim (Dr Leininger) functions as a businessman. While I known Jim is a very generous person, literally giving away more money than most people will make in a lifetime, he believes that people should pay their way in things they believe are important. One of the things that makes Jim unique is that throughout his life he has consistently believed in providing a way for those who want to shall we say earn their way. So I think the Founders Club is a perfect example of this characteristic in Jim’s life.”
The Founder’s Club is free for every team and program to sign up for. Once your program is part of the Founder’s Club you will receive the following benefits:
1) Access to all special fundraising programs and ventures.
2) Free tickets for all players and coaches to the 2009 Homeschool Showcase.
To sign up cut and paste this link into your browser http://homeschoolbasketball.com/team_sign_up.php
This summer we have created The Founder’s Club. The Founder’s Club is named in honor of Dr. Jim Leininger. Dr. Leininger is a true entrepreneur and visionary who founded Homeschool Basketball Nationals. Dr Leininger has over 50 business ventures that included founding KC Worldwide and ownership in the San Antonio Spurs. Dr. Leininger was a homeschool dad and the coach of a National Championship FEAST Patriots teams in the early 1990’s.
The Founders Club is designed to be a tool that helps homeschool families and teams throughout the country. Additionally the Founder’s Club will raise funds to help promote the extra things that are important to the continued enhancement of the National Tournament. The Founder’s Club will be responsible for the Homeschool Showcase. “One of the things that the Founder’s Club does is helps programs that want to be more than just participants at Nationals become contributors. I think the long term health of Nationals will be directly impacted by how many programs want to roll up their sleeves and work with the Founder’s Club” states Tim Flatt, the Executive Director of the NCHBC. “We have tried to design this club in a way that is consistent with how Jim (Dr Leininger) functions as a businessman. While I known Jim is a very generous person, literally giving away more money than most people will make in a lifetime, he believes that people should pay their way in things they believe are important. One of the things that makes Jim unique is that throughout his life he has consistently believed in providing a way for those who want to shall we say earn their way. So I think the Founders Club is a perfect example of this characteristic in Jim’s life.”
The Founder’s Club is free for every team and program to sign up for. Once your program is part of the Founder’s Club you will receive the following benefits:
1) Access to all special fundraising programs and ventures.
2) Free tickets for all players and coaches to the 2009 Homeschool Showcase.
To sign up cut and paste this link into your browser http://homeschoolbasketball.com/team_sign_up.php
Thursday, July 03, 2008
National Summer Update
Plans for 2009 Nationals
This summer as we prepare for the Eighteenth Annual National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships to be held in March of 2009, we will be making a number of very significant announcements about four very important projects we are developing. We are faced with numerous hurdles that need to be overcome in order to assure that we remain on course for achieving the goals that have been our focus since I was appointed Executive Director of the NCHBC in 2000. These goals have been foundational in every decision that we make in the administration and direction of the NCHBC. Here is a list of our goals:
1) To host a family event that emphases our Christian heritage.
2) To provide a quality event that families are willing to take a week of vacation to attend.
3) To provide a balanced tournament that:
A. Provides a format that allows all teams to compete with teams at or about their talent level.
B. Provides the top teams a chance to play in a National Championship atmosphere.
C. Provides an opportunity for coaches, players and parents to see what it is possible by seeing the top level teams.
4) To showcase the top talent for college coaches and the media.
5) To demonstrate to others that Homeschool basketball is not behind and our tournament is equal to state public school tournament caliber.
While I believe we have been making steady strides in achieving all of our goals, we have some serious concerns about making sure goals one and two stay intact. The main hurdles that we need to make sure .... to finish this story go to http://homeschoolbasketball.com/fund_raising_packet.pdf
This summer as we prepare for the Eighteenth Annual National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships to be held in March of 2009, we will be making a number of very significant announcements about four very important projects we are developing. We are faced with numerous hurdles that need to be overcome in order to assure that we remain on course for achieving the goals that have been our focus since I was appointed Executive Director of the NCHBC in 2000. These goals have been foundational in every decision that we make in the administration and direction of the NCHBC. Here is a list of our goals:
1) To host a family event that emphases our Christian heritage.
2) To provide a quality event that families are willing to take a week of vacation to attend.
3) To provide a balanced tournament that:
A. Provides a format that allows all teams to compete with teams at or about their talent level.
B. Provides the top teams a chance to play in a National Championship atmosphere.
C. Provides an opportunity for coaches, players and parents to see what it is possible by seeing the top level teams.
4) To showcase the top talent for college coaches and the media.
5) To demonstrate to others that Homeschool basketball is not behind and our tournament is equal to state public school tournament caliber.
While I believe we have been making steady strides in achieving all of our goals, we have some serious concerns about making sure goals one and two stay intact. The main hurdles that we need to make sure .... to finish this story go to http://homeschoolbasketball.com/fund_raising_packet.pdf
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Important Announcement
This summer we have been working a number of very important projects that will be of assistance to all homeschool teams. Here are a couple that might catch your attention:
1) Every player can receive Free Player registration in 2009
2) Every team can receive Free Team Registration in 2009
3) You could receive free lodging for the 2009
4) Your team could receive Nike Sponsorship
We will be hosting a conference call Thursday June 19th to discuss all the details. We have posted the details on the coaches’ blog but many coaches may not check the blog during the year, so please contact your coach and make sure he checks the blog for the information.
Also this call is open to assistant coaches, board members and anyone involved in organization with in your program. Please feel free to contact me if you are in one of these categories and would like the call information.
Tim Flatt
1) Every player can receive Free Player registration in 2009
2) Every team can receive Free Team Registration in 2009
3) You could receive free lodging for the 2009
4) Your team could receive Nike Sponsorship
We will be hosting a conference call Thursday June 19th to discuss all the details. We have posted the details on the coaches’ blog but many coaches may not check the blog during the year, so please contact your coach and make sure he checks the blog for the information.
Also this call is open to assistant coaches, board members and anyone involved in organization with in your program. Please feel free to contact me if you are in one of these categories and would like the call information.
Tim Flatt
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
2009 Nationals Fund Raising Project
We have finalized the details for the 2009 Nationals Fund Raising Project, this project is designed to help you raise money to offset the cost in attending Nationals. We would love to see 100% particpation, there is absolutely no reason for any player to ever pay a players fee again. Start early and you might be surprised with how much money you can earn. The details can be found on our sponsor blog. http://nchbcsponsor.blogspot.com/
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