El Paso getting ready to welcome 2015 Open Championships
January 09, 2015
EL PASO, Texas - Construction is underway at the El Paso Convention Center, and the local media and invited guests got their first look at the soon-to-be home of the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Open Championshipson Friday.
A crew of more than 50, which includes tournament employees and staff members from Brunswick, the official lane equipment provider for the USBC Open Championships, recently unloaded the dozens of truckloads of materials needed to create the biggest stage in bowling.
The first steps in transforming the convention center into a 62-lane bowling arena included putting up the tournament's custom scoreboards and laying the framework for the lanes. Office and vendor space, as well as the locker and squad rooms, also are in progress.
This year marks the first visit to El Paso in 112 years of tournament history. The venue will feature 52 lanes for Open Championships competition and 10 Showcase Lanes for team practice sessions and the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC.
"I'm especially pleased to welcome USBC back to El Paso for the 112th installment of the Open Championships," El Paso mayor Oscar Leeser said. "USBC is a good-natured organization that believes in giving back to the community, and I can't tell you how happy I am that they are making a conscious effort to purchase their supplies locally, employ hundreds of El Paso's skilled laborers and partner with local non-profit organizations such as Creative Kids, Habitat for Humanity and the Special Olympics."
Guests assembled in the area that eventually will be the end of the event's famed Center Aisle, and USBC Senior Director of Tournament Planning Greg Moore described exactly what goes into creating the one-of-a-kind facility.
Visitors will be invited back to the same spot in approximately 50 days to see the completed venue, which will welcome more than 35,000 bowlers during the 128-day run of the Open Championships from March 7-July 12.
"We've been working on the plans for this year's event for a few years now, and it definitely was exciting to see the trucks roll in, so we could get started," Moore said. "This is largest project we've ever done, and we're in a great new city. We already feel like part of the community, and we know the bowlers will have a memorable time in El Paso."
The El Paso Convention Center also played host to the 2010 USBC Women's Championships, which marked the first time the Women's Championships was contested in a convention-center setting.
The city and convention center now are familiar with the events and ready to welcome this year's bowlers with their Southwestern hospitality.
"The Destination El Paso team has been working diligently to prepare for the 2015 Open Championships by making community presentations and hosting special ambassador trainings for hospitality-industry partners, and we even have developed a state-of-the-art mobile app for bowlers to download and use while they're here," said Destination El Paso General Manager Bryan Crowe. "We pride ourselves on our warm hospitality, and after we hosted the 2010 Women's Championships, we received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback. Our ultimate goal is exceed the expectations of a new crop of visitors in the hope that they'll serve as El Paso ambassadors when they return to their respective cities."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
A crew of more than 50, which includes tournament employees and staff members from Brunswick, the official lane equipment provider for the USBC Open Championships, recently unloaded the dozens of truckloads of materials needed to create the biggest stage in bowling.
The first steps in transforming the convention center into a 62-lane bowling arena included putting up the tournament's custom scoreboards and laying the framework for the lanes. Office and vendor space, as well as the locker and squad rooms, also are in progress.This year marks the first visit to El Paso in 112 years of tournament history. The venue will feature 52 lanes for Open Championships competition and 10 Showcase Lanes for team practice sessions and the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC.
"I'm especially pleased to welcome USBC back to El Paso for the 112th installment of the Open Championships," El Paso mayor Oscar Leeser said. "USBC is a good-natured organization that believes in giving back to the community, and I can't tell you how happy I am that they are making a conscious effort to purchase their supplies locally, employ hundreds of El Paso's skilled laborers and partner with local non-profit organizations such as Creative Kids, Habitat for Humanity and the Special Olympics."
Guests assembled in the area that eventually will be the end of the event's famed Center Aisle, and USBC Senior Director of Tournament Planning Greg Moore described exactly what goes into creating the one-of-a-kind facility.
Visitors will be invited back to the same spot in approximately 50 days to see the completed venue, which will welcome more than 35,000 bowlers during the 128-day run of the Open Championships from March 7-July 12.
"We've been working on the plans for this year's event for a few years now, and it definitely was exciting to see the trucks roll in, so we could get started," Moore said. "This is largest project we've ever done, and we're in a great new city. We already feel like part of the community, and we know the bowlers will have a memorable time in El Paso."
The El Paso Convention Center also played host to the 2010 USBC Women's Championships, which marked the first time the Women's Championships was contested in a convention-center setting.
The city and convention center now are familiar with the events and ready to welcome this year's bowlers with their Southwestern hospitality.
"The Destination El Paso team has been working diligently to prepare for the 2015 Open Championships by making community presentations and hosting special ambassador trainings for hospitality-industry partners, and we even have developed a state-of-the-art mobile app for bowlers to download and use while they're here," said Destination El Paso General Manager Bryan Crowe. "We pride ourselves on our warm hospitality, and after we hosted the 2010 Women's Championships, we received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback. Our ultimate goal is exceed the expectations of a new crop of visitors in the hope that they'll serve as El Paso ambassadors when they return to their respective cities."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.