MORE THAN FOUR DAYS: APP AND OVERLAND PARK BET ON FIVE YEARS OF PICKLEBALL
As the inaugural APP Dillons Overland Park Open gets underway, the city and the APP Tour have reaffirmed a five-year partnership with a clear idea in mind: give this new stop time to grow alongside the community and become a place players and fans want to return to year after year.
This week, Overland Park welcomes the APP Tour for the first time. From Thursday through Sunday, AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk will become a meeting place for professionals, amateurs, families and fans getting their first opportunity to experience one of the Tour's professional pickleball events up close.
For a city making its debut on the calendar, four days might seem like enough time to measure whether the experience was successful.
APP and Visit Overland Park are already looking much further ahead.
The two organizations have reaffirmed a five-year partnership that makes this inaugural APP Dillons Overland Park Open more than another new date on the schedule. The idea is to come back, give the tournament room to grow and gradually help it find its own place within the community.
That's probably the most interesting part of the agreement.
This isn't simply about bringing professional players to Overland Park once a year, filling the courts for a weekend and packing everything up on Sunday. The longer-term goal is to build a relationship with the city and eventually make the tournament feel familiar to the people who live there.
Visit Overland Park has backed that idea with sponsorship support and a dedicated local marketing investment, in addition to APP's own investment in promoting the event. The objective is straightforward: make sure people around the area know what's happening, invite them through the gates and give them a chance to see what an APP Tour event actually feels like.
Ryan McSpadden, Chief Revenue Officer of the APP, put it simply when discussing the relationship between the two organizations.
“Visit Overland Park is the kind of partner that helps us build something lasting.”
For McSpadden, the financial commitment matters, but so does the willingness to involve the community. Reaching new fans, welcoming players and delivering a strong first experience are all important if this stop is going to mean considerably more five years from now than it does today.
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And five years gives them the time to do exactly that.
Because a sporting tradition can't really be manufactured over a single weekend. It starts with people showing up out of curiosity, families deciding to spend a few hours around the courts, kids watching professionals compete for the first time and fans enjoying the experience enough that, when next season arrives, they already know which weekend they want to keep open.
There's also everything that happens once the players leave the court.
People traveling to compete need somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat and ways to experience the city. Many bring their families. Fans coming from outside the area do much the same. For Visit Overland Park, that gives an event like this a tourism and economic dimension that extends well beyond the matches themselves.
The partnership creates an opportunity to introduce restaurants, hotels, attractions and Overland Park's hospitality to people who might never have had a reason to visit the city if a pickleball tournament hadn't brought them there.
Eric Olson, Vice President of Sports and Events for Visit Overland Park, sees the city's selection as an APP Tour stop as an opportunity to show what Overland Park can offer as a sports destination.
“Hosting the APP Dillons Overland Park Open reflects Visit Overland Park’s commitment to attracting world-class sporting events that drive tourism and economic growth.”
And now comes perhaps the nicest part of the whole thing: nobody knows yet how big this stop can become.
We're only in year one.
The players who win this weekend will become the first APP Tour champions crowned in Overland Park. The people walking into Bluhawk for the first time will be part of the crowd that attended the inaugural edition. Some things will work exceptionally well, and there will almost certainly be things that can improve.
That's how events that eventually become a natural part of a season usually begin.
Five years from now, it will be interesting to look back and compare.
Maybe there will be bigger crowds, more players and a local community much more deeply connected to the tournament. Maybe some of the kids watching from outside the court this week will return one day with a paddle in their hands to compete. Maybe families who came out of curiosity this Thursday will already have the dates marked on their calendars when the next edition comes around.
That's what makes a long-term partnership different. It gives everyone involved the chance to think about the things that don't exist yet.
For now, though, it's time to enjoy the beginning.
For four days, Overland Park will have some of the Tour's best players competing alongside hundreds of amateurs, while a city that until now watched the APP from outside the calendar begins writing its own story within it.
On Sunday, the final medals will be handed out, players will pack their bags and the courts will slowly grow quiet.
But this time, it won't really be goodbye.
It'll simply be: see you next year.
And that's how traditions begin.
See you in the next story.
DINK Authority — The Voice of Pickleball™
As the inaugural APP Dillons Overland Park Open gets underway, the city and the APP Tour have reaffirmed a five-year partnership with a clear idea in mind: give this new stop time to grow alongside the community and become a place players and fans want to return to year after year.
This week, Overland Park welcomes the APP Tour for the first time. From Thursday through Sunday, AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk will become a meeting place for professionals, amateurs, families and fans getting their first opportunity to experience one of the Tour's professional pickleball events up close.
For a city making its debut on the calendar, four days might seem like enough time to measure whether the experience was successful.
APP and Visit Overland Park are already looking much further ahead.
The two organizations have reaffirmed a five-year partnership that makes this inaugural APP Dillons Overland Park Open more than another new date on the schedule. The idea is to come back, give the tournament room to grow and gradually help it find its own place within the community.
That's probably the most interesting part of the agreement.
This isn't simply about bringing professional players to Overland Park once a year, filling the courts for a weekend and packing everything up on Sunday. The longer-term goal is to build a relationship with the city and eventually make the tournament feel familiar to the people who live there.
Visit Overland Park has backed that idea with sponsorship support and a dedicated local marketing investment, in addition to APP's own investment in promoting the event. The objective is straightforward: make sure people around the area know what's happening, invite them through the gates and give them a chance to see what an APP Tour event actually feels like.
Ryan McSpadden, Chief Revenue Officer of the APP, put it simply when discussing the relationship between the two organizations.
“Visit Overland Park is the kind of partner that helps us build something lasting.”
For McSpadden, the financial commitment matters, but so does the willingness to involve the community. Reaching new fans, welcoming players and delivering a strong first experience are all important if this stop is going to mean considerably more five years from now than it does today.
LOVE PICKLEBALL?
Get Dink Authority Magazine updates, new editions, pro stories and event alerts.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
And five years gives them the time to do exactly that.
Because a sporting tradition can't really be manufactured over a single weekend. It starts with people showing up out of curiosity, families deciding to spend a few hours around the courts, kids watching professionals compete for the first time and fans enjoying the experience enough that, when next season arrives, they already know which weekend they want to keep open.
There's also everything that happens once the players leave the court.
People traveling to compete need somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat and ways to experience the city. Many bring their families. Fans coming from outside the area do much the same. For Visit Overland Park, that gives an event like this a tourism and economic dimension that extends well beyond the matches themselves.
The partnership creates an opportunity to introduce restaurants, hotels, attractions and Overland Park's hospitality to people who might never have had a reason to visit the city if a pickleball tournament hadn't brought them there.
Eric Olson, Vice President of Sports and Events for Visit Overland Park, sees the city's selection as an APP Tour stop as an opportunity to show what Overland Park can offer as a sports destination.
“Hosting the APP Dillons Overland Park Open reflects Visit Overland Park’s commitment to attracting world-class sporting events that drive tourism and economic growth.”
And now comes perhaps the nicest part of the whole thing: nobody knows yet how big this stop can become.
We're only in year one.
The players who win this weekend will become the first APP Tour champions crowned in Overland Park. The people walking into Bluhawk for the first time will be part of the crowd that attended the inaugural edition. Some things will work exceptionally well, and there will almost certainly be things that can improve.
That's how events that eventually become a natural part of a season usually begin.
Five years from now, it will be interesting to look back and compare.
Maybe there will be bigger crowds, more players and a local community much more deeply connected to the tournament. Maybe some of the kids watching from outside the court this week will return one day with a paddle in their hands to compete. Maybe families who came out of curiosity this Thursday will already have the dates marked on their calendars when the next edition comes around.
That's what makes a long-term partnership different. It gives everyone involved the chance to think about the things that don't exist yet.
For now, though, it's time to enjoy the beginning.
For four days, Overland Park will have some of the Tour's best players competing alongside hundreds of amateurs, while a city that until now watched the APP from outside the calendar begins writing its own story within it.
On Sunday, the final medals will be handed out, players will pack their bags and the courts will slowly grow quiet.
But this time, it won't really be goodbye.
It'll simply be: see you next year.
And that's how traditions begin.
See you in the next story.
DINK Authority — The Voice of Pickleball™
