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County Executive Andy Spano has sent a proposal to the state
in an effort to be selected to host the 2007 Empire
State Games, a
multi-sport event for New York amateur athletes patterned after the
Olympics. “We have the fields and facilities, the housing, the
transportation system, the parks and tourist attractions to host the
athletes and their families – as well as the enthusiasm,” Spano
said. “We would be the ideal location for this fun event.” Noting that other counties are
interested in hosting the summer event as well, Spano asked county
residents to lobby the state by sending an electronic postcard to New
York State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro and to Empire State
Games Director Fred Smith. To do so, residents should log on
to the county’s website, www.westchestergov.com
and click on the special Empire State Games link. The games would take place July 24-29, 2007 and would draw
6,000 athletes, their families, friends and coaches to the host region.
Spano noted that bringing several thousand tourists to the area in
summer would boost the county’s economy, with added business for
restaurants, hotels, retail stores and entertainment and recreational
venues. He said that funding for the games, a program of the New York
State’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, would
come from the state, with additional private fundraising support here in
Westchester. If Westchester is selected as host, most of the activity
would take place at the campuses of five colleges: Manhattanville and
SUNY Purchase, both in Harrison; Pace University (Pleasantville and
Briarcliff); and the College of New Rochelle and Iona College, both in
New Rochelle. In all, 29 distinct
sports, from archery to volleyball would take place in 21 venues,
including all five college campuses, along with Westchester Community
College, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle high schools, the Westchester
County Center in White Plains, the ice rinks at Playland Ice Casino in
Rye and Hommocks Park in Mamaroneck, and other cooperating public and
private venues. Athletes would be housed in the dorms, with many sporting
events taking place within each campus. Shuttle bus transportation would
be arranged to carry them to offsite venues. The proposal outlines the ease of shuttle transportation
between housing and venues for athletes, the convenience of Westchester’s
many hotels and the extraordinary public transportation for athletes’
families and spectators who come from out of town.
The county has formed a local organizing committee of leaders
from the business, education and recreation communities. Local Organizing Committee |
WESTCHESTER COUNTY
VIES FOR 2007 EMPIRE STATE GAMES