The city's sports programs will be highlighted, plus the city will get a street sign to put up and some cash.
By ADRIENNE P. SAMUELS
Published February 12, 2004
CLEARWATER - Eight horseshoe pitching pits, 36 softball courts, 17 football fields, 62 shuffleboard courts, eight beach volleyball pits and two bocce ball courts are only the beginning.
Add to that a multimillion-dollar spring training stadium for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Suncoast's only 50-meter, Olympic-size pool and one begins to understand why Sports Illustrated magazine deems Clearwater a certifiable, undeniable Sportstown.
So much so that the magazine's 3.5-million readers will learn all about Clearwater's - and Florida's - sports opportunities through a six- to eight-page color spread in the edition that will go on sale Wednesday.
Clearwater will be highlighted on a map in the magazine, plus the city will get a street sign to put up and some cash.
So take that, Miami, Tampa and Orlando.
"The application asked them to present their case for how they facilitated and worked to enhance the quality of their community sports programming, and Clearwater really demonstrated that effort," said Allison Keane, an SI spokeswoman.
Clearwater Parks and Recreation director Kevin Dunbar put together a 3-inch-thick binder full of sports documentation, including color pictures.
"We knew what was offered in the Clearwater community was a very comprehensive program, but like with a lot of things, when you actually see it down in writing, all collected together, we even said "Wow,"' said Dunbar.
The city is looking forward to early March, when it will host the University of South Florida's Speedline Tournament. The winner of the women's fast pitch tourney will represent the United States at the Olympics this summer in Athens.
Clearwater hosts events such as the tournament, Dunbar said, because the city has concentrated on improving its sports infrastructure.
In two weeks, the new baseball stadium will open. And last year Clearwater welcomed an AAU basketball league championship tournament as well as a new public aquatics center complete with water slides and a toddler swim area. Oldies but goodies include double Dutch and Little League programs.
Dunbar's department regularly teams up with the Special Olympics and the Turkey Trot, a family event that usually draws about 10,000 runners.
"Athletics is one of the big cornerstones in what we offer to our community," Dunbar said.
SI is sending its assistant managing editor to the March 6 Clearwater Phillies game to hand out the award.
Mayor Brian Aungst is happy to accept.
"When you think about it, with all the wonderful parks and recreation facilities in Florida, with big cities like Miami and Jacksonville, St. Pete and Tampa, it's quite the honor," Aungst said.
There is a fringe benefit, too.
A mention of Clearwater on both the SI Web sites and the magazine is sure to attract more tourists, Aungst said.
The value to the city and the local convention and visitors bureau is about $238,000 - or the cost of a full-page, nationwide, color ad in SI.
"This will help us with our marketing," Aungst said. "That's a big part of our tourism, bringing in those types of events so folks will have rooms at the hotels."
SI, with the help of the National Recreation and Park Association, is selecting 50 Sportstowns to commemorate the magazine's 50th anniversary. One town per state is a winner. The program started in July 2003 and ends this summer.
Some 250 applications were received nationwide. It is not known how many were from Florida.
At the end of the program, the cities each will receive an as-yet-undetermined amount of cash, said SI.
The Phillies are proud to call this city home, said John Timberlake, Florida operations director for the team. They've been here for 57 years and plan to stay longer.
"The city has been progressive," said Timberlake. "We signed a 20-year lease. I think that speaks volumes."
The wide availability of city-sponsored sporting events is good for families, said Mary Taddeo, who sits on the board of directors for the Clearwater Aquatic Team.
All three of her children are swimmers at the Long Center.
"It's their home away from home and a lot of the kids on the team feel the same way," Taddeo said. "We have kids on our team that come from Pasco County and Spring Hill so they can swim. ... I think we're very fortunate to have a place like this right in Clearwater."
Adrienne Samuels can be reached at 445-4157 or samuels@sptimes.com[Last modified February 12, 2004, 01:00:30]
