Spokane’s long program set to begin

ST. LOUIS – Spokane2007.com, the Web site for next year’s State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships, began its countdown 728 days ago.

Today, the number posted is 371 days until 250 senior, junior and novice skaters compete in the most significant skating event in Spokane’s history. However, another notable number is one – as in days until the St. Louis championships end, and Spokane officially is on the clock.

Marc Schreiber, vice president of marketing and development of the St. Louis Sports Commission, referred to the championships as “the Super Bowl of skating. The biggest winter sporting event St. Louis ever hosted.”

Toby Steward, one half of the Spokane team promoting the 2007 nationals, went one step further.

“This is our Super Bowl and Olympics rolled into one,” he said of the Jan. 21-28, 2007 event.

With the potential of ticket sales surpassing 125,000 (a deceptive number, since all-event ticket holders each will receive at least 13 tickets), what should visitors expect from Spokane? How will the Lilac City measure up to Portland and St. Louis, hosts of the 2005 and 2006 nationals, respectively?

For starters, there is nothing remotely NASCAR about this core group of fans who follow the elegant sport of figure skating. According to U.S. Figure Skating, 68 percent have college degrees. Their median household income is about $90,000.

The fans are easy to single out. Many are mothers and grandmothers who move in groups as they mingle in hotel lobbies, linger around information boards, or await bus transportation as early as 9 in the morning for a full day of lutzes and laybacks.

Some fans have turned the event into a girls’ getaway, like Trudy Noyes and her two pals from Memphis, who have attended six nationals and one world championship.

“None of the three of us skates,” Noyes said, between sessions at the Savvis Center this week. “We just love the artistry and the beauty of the sport.”

Others use the championships as an excuse for a reunion.

“We met two sisters who said they meet here every year,” said Deb Barnes, of the Spokane Local Organizing Committee, while working the Spokane booth at the arena. “They said, ‘We want to sit in the front row (in Spokane). Give us whatever you’ve got.’ “

The Local Organizing Committee, which includes representatives from the Spokane Regional Visitors & Convention Bureau, has had a bold presence at the past two championships. If the Spokane booth was to be judged, it undoubtedly would receive high marks in composition with its buddy bar tables and stools, and poster-sized photos of Spokane.

Rather than stopping by to purchase Spokane’s $495 ticket packages, some drift over to throw in their 2-cents worth of complaints and suggestions.

One common gripe Spokane officials heard in Portland and St. Louis was about the quality of food. Spectators said they were tired of eating arena pizza or hot dogs for breakfast – and that’s when they found booths open. Spokane representatives assured potential ticket buyers there will be more food options at all times at the Spokane Arena and secondary venue Convention Center. They also said it won’t be a challenge to find places to buy a cup of coffee. Starbucks is one of the corporate sponsors.

The proximity between the main and secondary venues also won’t be an issue in Spokane. The two rinks, the Arena and the Convention Center, are within walking distance. The headquarter hotel, Doubletree Hotel Spokane City Center, is connected to the Convention Center that is due to open in late summer.

Portland’s venues were in the same Rose Quarter complex, making it a breeze for the hardcore, early-arrivers to jump over to the secondary venue to watch lower-discipline skaters and practices. St. Louis’ secondary venue was 26 miles northwest of downtown in a different county. It was hardly a factor in the event as only five sessions were scheduled there, and many of the fans said they “didn’t bother” going because they didn’t have transportation.

Spokane organizers said Spokane Transit will have a transportation system with special routes during the event. Fans also will have the option of buying a shuttle pass, which will be awarded to a contractor. Spokane organizers said the cost of a pass will be less than $60, the price in St. Louis.

Unlike the past two host cities, where skating was the sole attraction, Steward and business partner Barb Beddor plan on organizing a free FanFest in the Convention Center. Fireworks also are planned.

“It’s going to have that kind of electric excitement of an Olympics. It’s going to be a party,” Steward said.

And in signature Steward and Beddor fashion, the public is invited next week to come celebrate a one-year-until-Spokane kickoff party, 1 p.m. Friday at River Park Square.