Frank Brown Park

So I stumbled upon this today and learned of a great new adventure our beautiful town is taking on!

Panama City Beach has taken the first steps in developing an annual sports festival by hosting five events during a weekend in mid-May.

A professional volleyball and a watercross event will join baseball and softball tournaments at Frank Brown Park and the NPC Southern USA Classic bodybuilding competition as events being held in the city during May 14-16.

“It’s our hope that each year we can tack on another extreme sport,” said Richard Sanders, vice president of sports marketing for the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The SuperCup of Watercross will be a two-day event, May 15 and 16, in the Gulf of Mexico behind the Boardwalk Beach Resort. Comprising at least 30 classes, the SuperCup of Watercross is personal watercraft racing.

Panama City Beach will be the kickoff for the Upper Watercraft Promotions-International Jet Sports Boating Association National Tour.

“You guys have the season for it,” said A.J. Handler, the CEO Upstate Watercraft Promotions. “For us to start up north and in the middle of May, half the country still has snow.”

Handler said the tour has a NASCAR-esque following and features a circuit of about 200 competitors who travel the country.

Watercross has teamed with Extreme Volleyball Professionals to hold their events simultaneously.

The EVP will hold its Island event here, which features the tour’s 10 best women in a tournament on May 15.

“We’re more of getting into the extreme sports arena for us and combining it with sand sports,” Sanders said. “It’s the weekend in between Mother’s Day and Memorial Day when the business will be good for the destination.”

The NPC Southern USA Classic will be held at Gulf World on May 14 and 15.

For more information, stay tuned to the blog!

Sports in September are full of adult men’s, women’s, and co-ed softball play.

Last year over 200 teams participated at the Frank Brown Park recreational facility and surrounding sports complexes. Because of the anticipated size for this year’s event, the second week was added for the WSL North American Championship.

In 2003, Panama City Beach was awarded the bid for the event. Other destinations that were in the running consisted of Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Daytona Beach. The inaugural event in 2002 was held in Las Vegas.

The WSL is nationally known for its softball 360 cable TV show that reaches over 70 million homes, and its “Long Haul Bombers Stadium Power Tour” where some of the top players in the game compete in a home-run derby before the major league teams play. These stadium performances have taken place before Florida Marlins, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, and Colorado Rockies games amazing fans and players with the distance these athletes can hit a softball. WSL is also recognized for its “North American Championships” that are played annually in Panama City Beach. Over $87,000.00 in total prizes are awarded for the two championships. This year, for the first week’s championship, Softball Kingdom will be streaming live over the internet some of the games and the championship game.

Add all this exposure of TV, Stadium Tours, and internet streamlining together, the WSL relationship is a major “Home Run” for Panama City Beach.

For more information on this event and organization, go to www.softballleague.com.

September 15-18, 2009 Sports Marketing will also be attending the S.P.O.R.T.S. Institute Conference in Orlando.

August 25-28, 2009 Sports Marketing hosted representatives from the two largest beach soccer organizations in the nation. Both are excited about working with Panama City Beach for future endeavors. Be on the lookout for more news concerning beach soccer in PCB.