Nov. 19, 2007: The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah is Cashing In On Sports
by Mike Gorrell

Ted Cordingley is one beneficiary of Utah's increasing role as a host of sporting events.

The photographer/owner of Salt Lake City-based Sportsline Photography, he and his staff will be a constant presence at the U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships, which run Monday through Dec. 1 at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex on Guardsman's Way.

Cordingley and two other photographers will be shooting pictures of hundreds of junior figure skaters in the national event - one of several scheduled in coming months - downloading them onto computers. Seven or eight monitoring stations are being set up so fans and family can look for favorite photos they might buy as a DVD or turn into mouse pads, custom posters or other mementos.

"It's going to be a very, very long week for a couple of us," said Cordingley, predicting daily hours running from 7 a.m. to midnight.

But he is not complaining. The potential to make some serious money is there. Events such as this draw thousands of competitors, families and friends. And Cordingley, photographer for the Utah Grizzlies hockey team and a photo supervisor for hockey during the 2002 Winter Olympics, appreciates the lingering opportunities presented by the Games.

"I love taking athletes and their action photos and putting them onto a unique or interesting background - in this case, the [Bonneville] Salt Flats," he said. "With some photo enhancement, instead of skating in an arena, it will look like they're skating on a frozen Great Salt Lake."

The Utah Sports Commission projects the Figure Skating Championships to generate $1 million to $2 million for the state's economy.

The weeklong skating competition is one of nine events the Sports Commission has helped lure to the state in the last two months of 2007 and next year. Together, they are expected to spark $11 million in economic activity, as well as providing free advertising through national and international broadcasts.

"Sports are a key part of Utah's diverse recreational and business landscape," said Jeff Robbins, Utah Sports Commission president and chief executive. "Having these major national and international events come to Utah will bring significant economic impacts and image-building opportunities."

The figure skating event follows a World Cup long-track speedskating event Nov. 9-11 at Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns. That Olympic venue will be the setting for a short-track World Cup event Feb. 8-10. Their economic return is expected to be $2 million directly, plus free advertising from live broadcast feeds to Europe.

Wrestling also figures prominently in the sports scene. Three events between late December and mid-summer should bring thousands of wrestlers to Utah. Their combined worth to the community - $2.5 million.

The events are not confined to Salt Lake County. Joel Racker, president and chief executive of the Utah Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, noted that four of them are in his county - two wrestling meets, a racquetball tournament and a lumberjack competition.

"Each event will provide a positive economic impact for Utah Valley businesses and recreational venues, and they also confirm Utah Valley's reputation as a 'sporting events friendly' destination," Racker said.

The Sports Commission also helped the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau to lure the 2008 Senior Softball Western Regional Nationals in mid-July to the Valley and Cottonwood complexes. Total estimated economic impact - $2-3 million.

Although the money is nice, photographer Cordingley said these sporting events have side benefits, too.

Take figure skaters, he noted. "The people I'm taking pictures of will definitely include some Olympians. You just don't know which ones they are going to be."