EVERETT — The world’s spotlight will be trained on Everett next weekend, as some of today’s best gymnasts converge for a major international competition before the summer Olympic games in London.
More than 15,000 people are expected to flood downtown Everett for the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships, March 16-18 at Comcast Arena.
The event is expected to generate between $2 million and $3 million for the Snohomish County economy.
While many people helped make that happen, Everett has one guy in particular to thank.
Steve Penny isn’t a household name but his enthusiasm for bringing a big event to the Northwest is a key reason Everett landed the honor.
Penny is the president of USA Gymnastics, the governing body for the sport in the United States.
He lives in Indianapolis now, but his heart belongs to the Northwest after spending high school and the early part of his career in the Seattle area.
He worked on the Goodwill Games in Seattle in 1990 was part of the unsuccessful attempt in 1998 to bring the summer Olympics to Seattle.
In his role with USA Gymnastics, he knew the Northwest would be a good home for an international event that features countries in the Pacific Rim.
“I felt strongly about the potential for this event to be successful (in the Northwest),” he said. “It’s rewarding for me to bring something to my own area.”
A visit to Comcast Arena in 2008 for another major sporting event, Skate America, helped solidify that Everett was the right home for a big gymnastics event, Penny said.
Skate America showed Comcast could handle a big sports event and community support was strong.
Everett’s arena has other attributes that give it the leg up, said Laura Lee, the sports promoter behind the Pacific Rim event. She also handled Skate America.
Comcast has seating that can be moved around to create a space for judges, television cameras — or whatever is needed. It’s large enough to seat a crowd but still intimate. There are no pillars or other visual obstacles for spectators or judges.
That flexibility is important when an arena has to put on a sports competition, not just a show, Lee said.
“Everybody can see and nothing is in the way,” she said.
So far, Penny said he’s impressed with the support for the event. He expects Snohomish County may land the event again in the future.
“I’ve already given it a lot of consideration,” he said. “We’ve been looking for a good home in the U.S. for this event. If we bring it back to the U.S., it’s highly likely it will be in the Northwest.”
Community events
The public is invited to work out with All-Around gymnastics 2004 Olympic gold medalist Carly Patterson at 6:30 a.m. Friday at the Everett YMCA, 2720 Rockefeller Ave. The event is free.
Imagine Children’s Museum is holding “Gymnastics Night” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday. There will be tumbling, flipping and twirling fun as athletes from Leading Edge Gymnastics Academy show kids how it’s done. There will also be a drop-in guest appearance by Patterson, Olympic gold medalist. Special event admission is $5 for members and $8 for nonmembers at the museum, 1502 Wall St., Everett.
Tickets available at the museum. For more information call 425-258-1006 or go to www.imaginecm.org.
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