October 12, 2008
- Roseburg, Oregon
South Coast push a success at Olympic Trials
Tourism officials from the Oregon Coast ran a booth at the Eugene 08 Festival promoting towns like Coos Bay, the hometown of Steve Prefontaine (above). By Azenith Smith
COOS BAY, Ore. - South Coast volunteers are still basking in the afterglow of a successful promotional campaign at the Olympic Trials in Eugene more than a week after the event concluded.
More than 30,000 people stopped by the Coos Bay North Bend Visitor and Convention Bureau booth inside the Eugene 08 Festival, including former Coos Bay resident Steve Prefontaine's sister, Linda, and Nike co-founder Phil Knight, according to Katherine Hoppe from the bureau. Hoppe said what surprised her the most was that many visitors didn't realize that Pre hailed from Coos Bay. "People were very interested, and they were excited to find out his mother still lived here," says Hoppe. "They were excited to find out that our Art Museum houses his awards and about the Prefontaine Memorial we have here. We have a lot of folks interested in the Prefontaine run that's coming in September." And their time spent promoting Prefontaine and the South Coast apparently paid off. Hoppe said they saw an immediate increase in visitor traffic on the coast during the two non-event days during the trials. "We found a lot of visitors at the Visitor's Center that had been at the trials," Hoppe said. "We saw constant traffic at the Prefontaine Memorial. Huggins Insurance saw a lot of traffic for folks for Prefontaine-related items. After speaking with the hotels here, many sold out for those nights." Hoppe said it couldn't have been done without the help of their 65 volunteers, as well as support from their sponsors including the Mill Casino, the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend, South Coast Development Council and Yellow Cab Taxi. |
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