Just in time for the collegiate football season, Cities of the Big Ten has launched a passport designed to help fans—and meeting planners—explore the top 10 attractions in each community where a Big Ten Conference university is located.
“The Cities of the Big Ten passport initiative … encourages sports fans to explore our city beyond just athletic events, highlighting the diverse experiences our destination offers,” says Chad W. Wiebesick. He’s director of public affairs for Destination Ann Arbor, which is home to the University of Michigan.
Dave Gerdes, vice president of sales and marketing at the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau in State College, Pennsylvania—where Penn State University is based—explains that Cities of the Big Ten organized about a decade ago with a target audience of sports fans visiting to attend everything from football to basketball to hockey, but that audience is shifting.
“Over a year ago, we were trying to figure out how we would make [the organization] a little stronger,” Gerdes says. “How can we do the same thing, but focus more on the destinations than the universities? Let’s take the opportunity to promote these neat towns and the fact that there’s year-round visitation in these areas, and not just for sporting events.”
Lori Lanspeary, manager of marketing and community engagement for Choose Lansing (Michigan State University is in East Lansing), says many visitors come to the area for meetings and other special events. “Our bread and butter is meetings,” she says. “[The Cities of the Big Ten passport] is a really great tool to have for everybody from alumni to prospective students visiting the campuses and also just for people like meeting planners and conference-goers. You go to a city and sometimes you’re like, ‘I’m just here and I don’t see anything past the hotel and the convention center.’ It’s just nice to get a succinct list of … the top attractions in the area.”
Visitors to any of the cities featured representing 18 schools can download the Cities of the Big Ten passport and follow it to check in at each university’s stadium as well as the top 10 suggested locations from each destination. In Columbus, Ohio, home of The Ohio State University, recommended attractions include the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, Legoland Discovery Center in Columbus, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and German Village & Brewery District, among others.
In Los Angeles, passport holders can check in at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the University of Southern California plays; the California Science Center and Exposition Park Rose Garden are among other recommended stops. In nearby Pasadena, where UCLA plays at The Rose Bowl, suggested attractions include The Autry Museum, LA Zoo, and Kidspace Children’s Museum. The region around the University of Oregon‘s home city of Eugene features the South Willamette Valley Food Trail, Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and the Covered Bridges Scenic Route.
“We’re encouraging people to see more of the destination than just coming in for a day or two for a special event, then leaving,” Gerdes says. “There are great universities in these towns, but we also have wonderful destinations that have wonderful things to do that might not necessarily be school-related.”
Lanspeary actually started using the passport herself during a road trip to Minneapolis. “I have checked into three of the Big Ten stadiums so far,” Lanspeary says. “I stopped in Madison, Wisconsin, at the University of Wisconsin, checked in at the University of Minnesota, and I was on campus at Michigan State University yesterday. I think I’m at the top of the leaderboard so far.”
The Cities of the Big Ten is a partnership that includes Destination Ann Arbor, Choose Lansing, The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, Visit Bloomington, Central Jersey Convention & Visitors Bureau, Destination Madison, Discover Los Angeles, Experience Champaign-Urbana, Experience Columbus, Experience Prince Georges County, Chicago’s North Shore, Lincoln Convention & Visitors Bureau, Meet Minneapolis, Think Iowa City, Travel Lane County, Visit Lafayette/West Lafayette, and Visit Seattle. They’re working with destination experience technology company Bandwango on the Cities of the Big Ten passport, which is easily accessible from mobile devices.
