Everett impresses; gymnasts bringing championships back to city

EVERETT — City officials are hoping an international gymnastics tournament will draw at least 20,000 visitors — and several million dollars — to downtown businesses next year.

The Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships, a three-day competition, is scheduled to start April 8, 2016, at the Xfinity Arena.

Everett has hosted the championships once before, in 2012.

“Anecdotally, we know it was a huge success with hoteliers,” said Lanie McMullin, the city’s economic development director. “We filled hotel rooms. We filled restaurants.”

The city did not do any formal studies on the economic impact of the event, so no specific financial information is available, McMullin said. However, Xfinity Arena general manager Rick Comeau estimated that the 2012 championships brought $2.5 million to Everett.

The Xfinity Arena’s marketing department came up with the number, Comeau said. Their calculations tend to look at the attendance at an event, the hotel rooms that would be needed and length of the stay, and a rough estimate of food budgets for people staying in the area.

More than 300 athletes plan to compete in 2016, according to USA Gymnastics. That’s comparable to the 2012 turn-out. Three-day attendance in 2012 totaled 20,343 people — nearly triple the crowd at the 2008 tournament in California.

The success of the Everett event is what brought the competition back, said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. Coordinators are hoping for at least 20,000 people again.

For Xfinity Arena, the Pacific Rim Championships likely will be the biggest event of 2016, McMullin said. Comeau compared it to a Silvertips playoff run or a One Republic concert in terms of the number of seats filled. However, the international draw of the gymnastic competition is unique for the arena, he said.

Tickets go on sale later this year. Athletes and spectators will be seeking hotels, meals, supplies and souvenirs, she said.

Two hotels that didn’t exist in 2012 are on track to be open in April 2016, blocks away from the arena. A six-story Hampton Inn opened at 2931 W. Marine Dr. in 2014, the first new downtown hotel in 17 years.

An eight-story Courtyard by Marriott also should be finished by next April, McMullin said. It’s under construction at the corner of Colby Avenue and Wall Street.

The new lodgings mean a 68 percent increase in downtown Everett hotel rooms, according to numbers provided by Experience Everett, the city’s tourism arm. Three years ago, there were 410 rooms. By 2016, that number is expected reach 688.

The gymnastics competition falls several weeks shy of the hotels’ peak season, Experience Everett director Sean Straub said. The event puts people in rooms that normally wouldn’t be booked that time of year.

“They obviously house their athletes, and you’ll have families and spectators and coaches and a lot of other people who travel with the teams,” he said. “It can be a real bump for travel and tourism.”

He expects more people than downtown hotels can handle, which means Tulalip, south Everett and Marysville are likely to benefit. Penny specifically listed the Tulalip Resort Casino as one of the draws from the area in 2012.

Along with a direct boost to hotels, restaurants and shops, Everett gains international publicity from the competition, McMullin said.

“The event is televised and it brings people to Everett who never would have had a reason to come here,” she said.

The city is planning other activities around the competition. More information should be available at www.experienceeverett.com in the coming months. Possibilities include live music, whale watching tours and promotional discounts through local businesses.

The Pacific Rim Championships take place every two years. Olympic gold medalists have competed there in the past. Among them are Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross and Gabrielle Douglas from the U.S.

In 2014, Richmond, British Columbia, hosted the Pacific Rim Championships. Previous host cities include San Jose, Calif., and Melbourne, Australia.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.