Florida Sports Monthly Update - May, 2016 Palm Coast to Host FSF Sports Summit The Florida Sports Industry will be well represented at the 2016 FSF Sports Summit at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, May 25-27. Staff members from the state s 28 sports commissions will be on hand to share ideas and learn new ideas and practices to keep Florida among the nation s leaders in the sports landscape. The FSF will present five awards at the conference recognizing the efforts of the local sports commissions and their community partners. Venue of the Year, Best Event of the Year Small Market, Best Event of the Year Mid Market, Best Event of the Year Large Market, Best Awarded Event of the Year Attendees will also attend presentations and hear words of wisdom from sports professionals such as Wayne Hogan, Florida Sports Hall of Fame; Paul Phipps, Visit Florida; Elizabeth Young, National Association of Sports Commissions and representatives from several amateur sports National Governing Bodies. Look for the winners of the 2016 Awards in the June edition of the Florida Sports Monthly Partner Update. Florida Derby winner a likely favorite at the Kentucky Derby The 2016 Florida Derby winner, Nyquist, Is an unbeaten Californiabased horse, the reigning two-yearold champ with a Kentucky Derby and Preakness winning trainer and jockey, but is even better at age three. After winning the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park in April, this horse has more credentials than even American Pharoah did, and Upcoming Events May 13-15, 2016 Broward County Festival Sports Offered: Figure Skating, Rugby May 20-22, 2016 Lacrosse Championships Broward County, Parkland May 27-29, 2016 Boxing Invitational Carter Park Gymnasium, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida May 28-29, 2016 Basketball Championships Alachua County, Florida June 10-12, 2016 Swimming Championships Gainesville, Florida June 11-12, 2016 Sarasota-Bradenton Festival Manatee & Sarasota Counties, Florida Sports offered: Archery, Disc Golf, Paddling, Powerlifting, Racquetball, Rowing, Synchronized Swimming and Ultimate June 18-19, 2016 Palm Beach County Festival Palm Beach County, Florida Sports offered: BMX Cycling, Fencing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Weightlifting and Wrestling June 18-19, 2016 Table Tennis Championships Simpson Recreation Center, Lakeland, Florida
must be the most talked about horse in the country. Look for plenty of commentary about Nyquist on Saturday's coverage of the 142nd Run for the Roses. The Players Championship tees it up in Ponte Vedra Beach The countdown continues as the 43 rd anniversary for the Players Championship approaches and the state of Florida gets to be a part of it. The Player s Championship will be held in Ponte Vedra Beach, May 10-15, at TPC Sawgrass. This course has hosted the Players since 1982, and it is now the permanent course for this annual event. The Players is a major golfing event that has been around since 1974, and is one of the most anticipated PGA Tour tournaments on the annual PGA Tour schedule. June 18-19, 2016 Track & Field Championships Lake Minneola High School, Minneola, Florida June 24-26, 2016 Water Polo Championships Coral Springs, Florida June 25-26, 2016 Badminton Championships ClearOne Orlando, Florida FSF Sponsors Veteran golfer Jim Furyk, out with a wrist injury since February, announced he will return to play at the Wells Fargo competition leading up to the the Players Competition that following week. Furyk has never won a Players Championship title, but was the 2014 runner up. He will be in his hometown, Ponte Vedra, this year to compete for the 2016 title. Among some other golfers that have committed is defending champion Ricky Fowler and Jordan Spieth. Florida Spring Training Sets Per Game Attendance Record Florida s Spring Training Baseball reached a record high per game attendance this season. The average per game attendance of the 2016 Major League Baseball Spring Training Games was 7,096, marking the first time the number has topped 7,000 in over 100 years of Florida Grapefruit League games. Florida Sports Foundation A Division of Enterprise Florida, Inc. 101 North Monroe Street Suite 1000 Tallahassee, FL 32301 (850) 488-8347 The total attendance for the 215 games played between Major League teams in the state of Florida was 1,525,570. The 2016 season, played between March 1 and April 2, marked the 14 th time in the last 17 years that Florida Spring Training attendance has surpassed 1.5 million. Since 2000, a total of 26,576,761 fans have attended Spring Training games in Florida. Attendance figures are Clearwater Satellite Office 1501 N. Belcher Road, #238 Clearwater, FL 33761 (727) 724-3082 www.flasports.com
compiled by the Florida Sports Foundation from daily box scores of games, between Major League teams played in the State of Florida, and verified by each of the 15 teams in the Florida Grapefruit League. Lightning take 2ndround Stanley Cup lead with OT win After disposing of the Detroit Red Wings in five games in the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning now hold a 2-1 lead and home ice advantage in round two against the New York Islanders. Following Game Four in Brooklyn, the Lightning return to Amalie Arena for Games Five (Sunday, May 8) and possibly Seven (Tuesday, May 12). Game 1, Tampa Islanders 5, Lightning 3 Game 2, Tampa - Lightning 4, Islanders 1 Game 3, NY - Lightning 5, Islanders 4 (OT) Game 4, NY, Friday, May 6 Game 5, Tampa, Sunday, May 8 Game 6, NY, Tuesday, May 10 Game 7, Tampa, Thursday, May 12 The winner of the Lightning/Islanders series will meet the winner of the Washington Capitals/Pittsburgh Penguins series in the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami Heat continue win streak in NBA 2nd round Playoffs The Miami Heat have put together three consecutive wins to advance out the first round of the NBA Playoffs, in a seven-game series against the Charlotte Hornets and take a onegame lead over the Toronto Raptors. The Heat play one more game on Canadian soil before returing to South Florida for the next two. Game 1, Toronto - Heat 102, Raptors 96 (OT) Game 2, Toronto, Thursday, May 5 Game 3, Miami, Saturday, May 7 Game 4, Miami, Monday, May 9 Game 5, Toronto, Wednesday, May 11 Game 6, Miami, Friday, May 13 Game 7, Toronto, Sunday, May 15 The 2016 Playoff run for the Heat marks the seventh consecutive season Miami has advanced into the NBA Post-season.
Figure Skating begins High Season for Florida's Olympic-style Sports Festival More than 350 Florida figure skaters will be on the ice at the Panther s IceDen in Coral Springs for the for the 2016 SSG Figure Skating Championships to be held in Broward County, May 13-15. Skaters of various age and skill levels are expected to compete over three days of competition on the ice. Skaters as young as 4 and 5 years old will be learning the basics while more experienced skaters will look to advance to national competitions down the road. Estero's Paxton James (pictured at right), the 2015 Dorothy Dodson Award Winner for Figure Skating Excellence returns after high finishes at national competitions in 2015 and 2016. The Figure Skating Championships begin the Sunshine State Games high season with SSG events taking place on seven of eight weekends through June 25. Eight individual sport championships and two multi-sport Olympic-style Sports Festivals will be held in six different Florida communities. The provides amateur sports opportunities to nearly 10,000 athletes annually. Collegiate Track and Field Event highlights seven FSFgranted events during May Seven FSF granted events during the month of May will bring over 7,300 visitors to state and 4.3 million in economic impact. The 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Track and Field Championships, to be held at Tallahassee s Mike Long Track, will bring more than 2,000 visitors and 1.2 million in economic impact the weekend of May 13-15. FSF Grants are awarded on a quarterly basis with the next application deadline falling on Friday, July 8, 2016.
Tampa Bay Hosts Big Name Events The NCAA Men s Frozen Four at Amalie Arena and the 2017 College Football National Championship Games continues a trend of sports business that has made Tampa one of the hottestt sports tourism destinations in the country. While marquee NCAA events andd the possibility of a future Super Bowl are commonplac ce for the region, it continues its focus on youth and amateur tournaments to fill the annual calendar. This 2016 Frozen Four, held April 7 & 9, didn t disappoint, recording the third-highest attendancee ever for a championship game and second-most in an arena setting, with the 2010 championship at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. the record holder. The Tampa Bay region will transform into the hotbed of college football activity leading up to the 2017 national championshipp game being played at Raymond James Stadium on Monday, January 9. The Tampa Bay Sports Commission and the College Football Playoff unveiled the plans for the 2017 Championship Campus and has announced many of the events and initiatives planned Orlando is building its College Football resume With the renovations of 2014 still fresh, there s plenty of activity on the horizon in Orlando and the newly named Camping World Stadium (formerly known as the Citrus Bowl). The Florida State Seminoles recently played their spring football game in the stadium and open the 2016 season on the same field against the Ole Miss Rebels in the 2016 Camping World Kickoff, September 5 under the lights with an 8:00 p.m. kickoff. Future Camping World Kickoffs include a 2018 Game betweenn the Louisville Cardinals and Alabama Crimson Tide and a 2019 matchup between the Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes. Officials are reportedly making a play for the NFL s Pro Bowl. A bid to bring the NFL's all-star game to Orlando has been placed and looks to host for a three-year period beginning in 2017.
The stadium is already home to the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, Russell Athletic Bowl and Florida Blue Florida Classic games, and for the 2016 season the Orlando City Soccer Club. Miami and Tampa are finalists for 2019 and 2020 Super Bowls The NFL has selected Miami, Tampa among the four cities that also include New Orleans and Atlanta as finalists for the 2019 and 2020 Super Bowls. All four cities' bids will go before the 2016 Spring NFL Owners Meeting, May 24, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 2017 and 2018 Super Bowls are slated for, Houston and Minneapolis, respectively. None of the cities are strangers to hosting the Super Bowl. Between the four of them, they have combined to host the game 26 different times. Miami and New Orleans have each hosted 10 Super Bowls, which is a tie for the most of any U.S. city. Florida Amateur Sports Accolades Florida Senior Games Cyclist and Powerlifter Cheryl Cherry, of Tampa, was featured by the National Senior Games in its Personal Best series. Cherry was a 2015 Florida Senior Games gold medalist in the 5K and 10K Time Trials and in the 20K and 40K Road Races.
Florida schools among Top 10 in latest NCAA Divsion I Baseball Rankings While the Florida Gators lead the way in the NCAA Division I Baseball Rankings of May 2 with a 37-7 overall record, its Sunshine State counterparts are not far behind. the Miami Hurricanes check in at number four with a 33-8 record and the Florida State Seminoles are ranked seventh with a 29-12 record. The Seminoles host the Hurricanes in Tallahassee for a three game series the weekend of May 20-22. Look for a full house at Dick Howser Stadium for each of the three games between the ACC and In-state rivals. A projected field of 64 by Baseball America has six Florida teams advancing into the post season with three Florida regional sites in Coral Gables, Gainesville and Tallahassee. Also in the Top 25 rankings are the Florida Atlantic Owls at number 20 with a 30-12 record. The NCAA Division II South Regional rankings feature five Florida teams among the top 10. The Tampa Spartans lead the way at number one followed by Nova Southeastern at number two West Florida, third, Florida Southern at seventh and Lynn at eighth. Orlando City Soccer opens season As the Orlando City Soccer Club enters the third month of its 2016 season, artist AtomicChild will design three posters for games during the month of May. The first of the set, The Spirit (pictured at right), will be available at the Friday night, May 6 match against the New York Red Bulls. I wanted to capture a little bit of Orlando the city as well as the spirit of the Soccer Club in each poster, said AtmoicChild on the release of his first poster. Posters will also be available at Orlando City's May 25 game at Camping World Stadium against the Montreal Impact and its May 29 game against the Philadelphia Union. The Last Word - Nine rowers punched their tickets to the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games as the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Trials for Rowing at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota. The first seven rowers on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team were determined, as well as the first two on the 2016 U.S. Paralympic Team. Check the upcoming schedule of events at Benderson Park, which includes the USRowing Southeastern Youth Championships in May and the in June.