Two down, seven more to go – at least that’s the goal of the Bridgeport Conference Center, the Greater Bridgeport Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the North Central West Virginia Airport.

 

Last week, Conference Center General Manager and GBCVB Board Member Scott Duarte received the signed agreement that will make Baylor the second of nine Big 12 football program to use Bridgeport as its headquarters on game day. What that means is that on Oct. 18 for roughly 24 hours Bridgeport will be the official headquarters of the Baylor Football program. The announcement comes roughly a month after it was announced that Texas Christian University would also be using Bridgeport as its home base for the 2014 football season.

 

In the past, teams such as Baylor would fly out of Bridgeport, but fly into Pittsburgh and stay before heading to Morgantown on game day. Under this arrangement teams will fly into and out of Bridgeport and will stay at the Wingate Inn where they can also utilize the Bridgeport Conference Center meeting rooms and services.

 

“It’s the same type of arrangement, basically, that we have with TCU,” said Duarte. “Baylor will take up 98 percent of the hotel and all of the conference room space for team meetings, team meals and all the preparations needed for a Saturday game.”

 

So why is that a big deal?

 

Division I football traveling parties always consist of more than 100 individuals and those individuals need hotel rooms, meals and other amenities that have an impact in the tens of thousands of dollars. For the first two years of Big 12 Football competition, those dollars weren’t benefitting any part of the Bridgeport, regional or West Virginia economy. Instead, the benefit was going to Pennsylvania as teams flew into Pittsburgh International Airport, stayed in the Steel City or in Washington, Pa. And the alumni traveling parties that usually fly or take the long road journey, would often opt to stay near the team’s headquarters.

 

GBCVB Chairman Drew Pomeroy was instrumental in setting up the initial contacts with TCU and also Baylor. Pomeroy was aware that the reason teams were flying into Pittsburgh and staying in the Keystone State has little to do with disdain for West Virginia and more to do with finding a proper facility to meet a team’s need within reasonable distance of Morgantown. Once Pomeroy and Duarte teamed up and worked with North Central West Virginia Airport Director Rick Rock, they put together the plans to convince Big 12 teams that a facility existed in the Bridgeport Conference Center and the Wingate Hotel at Charles Pointe that was more than adequate. Together, they ball got rolling; first with TCU and now with Baylor.

 

“We have a lot of momentum positioning Bridgeport as a Conference and Meeting destination.  Our reputation and convenience in respect to sports travel is starting to grow, especially throughout the Big 12 and Mountain East Conferences,” said Pomeroy. “It is good to know that we can now add the Big 12 Football Champions as a crown jewel to this marketing initiative.  I continue to applaud Ricky and Scotty for the cooperation that they bring.  These two are definitely friends of tourism.”

 

And according to Duarte, this may not be the end of the run when it comes to teams from the Big 12 flying into – and staying – in Bridgeport.

 

“We’re working with all the teams. We’re trying to open the doors for additional travel this year, but so far the two we have are Baylor and TCU,” said Duarte. “We plan to give them a first class experience.”

 

Duarte is also thinking that there will be spillover from fans, including alumni groups that may fly to stay near the team, will use Bridgeport as their stopover point – or any place in North Central West Virginia.

“We sure hope so,” said Duarte when asked if the goal is to land fans to the region as well. “We want to get the same message to fans  as we are to the teams and that’s that Bridgeport is a place where they can do the business they need and a place where the fans can have a good time.”

 

Duarte said the impact of Baylor’s visit will be in the tens of thousands of dollars. He said, conservatively, the impact could be as high as a $40,000 with the possibility of alumni and other fans visiting the area making it much higher.

 

Oklahoma will also be staying in West Virginia this year. However, the team will be staying at the Waterfront Hotel in Morgantown.

 

Editor's Note: Top photos show Baylor in action from its 2012 visit to Morgantown, while CVB President Drew Pomeroy is in the third photo and Conference Center GM Scott Duarte is pictured below.