A Letter from CEO Jim Etzel
With the holiday season upon us and the new year fast approaching, it is my pleasure to write to you today, on behalf of the team at Sport Oregon, to express my gratitude for your investments in our organization. It’s always a privilege for me to write to all of you who make Sport Oregon so successful in fulfilling our mission to drive economic and positive social impact for our state through sports.
We are very fortunate to have an exceptionally strong and engaged board of directors, and a talented and dynamic staff at Sport Oregon. Simply put, it would not be possible for us to meet and exceed our goals as an organization without this incredible support from our membership and staff. We are truly grateful for your ongoing support.
Looking back at 2022, it has been an incredible year filled with great achievements with an eye towards future growth through the many events and programs that will take place in our state. This past year was rich with rewards, as our collective work from past years came to fruition with a host of exceptional events and one-of-a-kind experiences in our state.
For starters, we couldn’t be more thrilled with the very recent announcement that the 2030 Division I NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four will be hosted right here in Portland! To say that all of us at Sport Oregon, including all of our exceptional bid partners, are excited would be a massive understatement. Attracting the Final Four to Portland is a huge win for the entire community, and is a testament to the culture and passion for women’s basketball in Oregon. We can’t wait to host the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2030 and show everyone what many of us already know, that this is the best place in the world for women’s athletics.
Upon reflection, it is clear to us that the planning work we did through the pandemic is paying dividends. Coming out of COVID, we feel that the organization is poised for the future and is as strong as it’s ever been. Despite the challenges faced over the last two-plus years, we were able to focus on securing significant, and sometimes groundbreaking investments and events for our state, and strategically plan and implement meaningful new programs and initiatives, such as SHE FLIES.
The development of the Sport Oregon Foundation SHE FLIES initiative was a major area of focus for the organization in 2022. As our flagship initiative, the focus of SHE FLIES is connecting girls and women across Oregon to sports, and creating inclusive communities through its programs, partnerships and networks. It aims to do so through three focus areas: getting girls in the game, empowering women coaches and promoting fitness for life.
While it’s a relatively new initiative, it’s safe to say SHE FLIES is off and soaring on the strength of a great first year. Through the initiative, Sport Oregon awarded $25,000 in Community Grants in the spring. Additionally, we launched a new SHE FLIES content series, produced a free SHE FLIES Festival event, hosted a Women in Motorsports panel event in conjunction with the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Portland, and SHE FLIES became the exclusive non-profit partner and beneficiary of The Red Gala. Importantly, we have established a number of strategic partnerships that have set a great foundation for SHE FLIES to experience continued growth.
Looking ahead to next year, we are focused on further enhancing all of our SHE FLIES events, programs and fundraising. In 2023, we plan to give a minimum of $125,000 in Community Grants, with the new cycle beginning February. Additionally, plans are in place to make the SHE FLIES Festival a much larger event, with future plans to expand it to additional communities across Oregon.
This year also was an amazing year for marquee sporting events in our state. The return of the NCAA men’s regionals to Portland in March – with fans in the stands for the first time in three years – really set the stage for a terrific year. In the summer, Oregon showed its’ prowess in staging world-class sporting events by hosting the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in July. In terms of its overall audience and scope, the World Athletics Championships represented the largest sporting event that the state has hosted. It was the first time the event was held in the United States, and produced an estimated $50 million to the area in the form of direct spending by visitors associated with the event, with cumulative global viewership numbers estimated to be roughly 10 times higher than the Super Bowl. The World Athletics Championships capped an incredible spring and summer of high-level track and field events at the reimagined Hayward Field in Eugene.
This past year also saw the triumphant return of NASCAR to Portland after more than a 20-year absence. Race fans flocked to Portland International Raceway in June for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and again in September for the NTT IndyCar Series race. The events, importantly, made another strong statement that Portland and the state of Oregon are very much open for business.
Most recently, we once again marveled at the success of the Portland Thorns, who won their third NWSL Championship and became the first three-time league champion in the league’s history!
For a complete rundown of all the many great programs, events and achievements from the past year, be sure to check out our annual report.
While we celebrate the successes of the past year, we remain hard at work to continue improving our organization. We are fortunate that we have such tremendous support in our efforts, including from local and state leaders that value our continued work to drive economic impact by attracting events, fans and participants to our state each year. In the end, sports matter. Not only as entertainment, but they bond us as a community and state, and produce positive effects to our quality of life and economy.
The holidays are always a special time of year. This year, in particular, is extra rewarding as we look back at our collective achievements. As always, we look forward to even greater successes in the upcoming year. We are so grateful for everyone’s support of Sport Oregon; we wish all of you a safe and happy Holiday Season, and a Happy New Year!
