Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was just realizing the economic impact of sports events in 1999 when Mary Lee Malmberg, who had been working in convention sales for the local tourism bureau, went after her first major national event.

The event was the AAU Taekwondo national championships and it required a bid fee, something the city had never previously contemplated. because of the special commission form of government the city had at the time, Malmberg had to seek approval from each city commissioner to proceed with the bid.

Once she got the OK, she looked to Denny Gann, who in his role overseeing venues and attracting sports events to Sioux City, Iowa, was involved in the early days of what would become the national association of sports Commissions, now sports ETA.

Erik Hudson will take over the sports marketing efforts in Cedar Rapids.
“He was giving a presentation at the state tourism conference,” Malmberg recalled. “I drove halfway across the state to where he was giving his presentation and showed him my proposal. and what’s terrific about this industry is how people will assist you. He looked at the proposal, he told me how to tweak it, we submitted it and we won it.”

After the event, AAU submitted information to Malmberg that showed economic impact from the event had been far greater than the bid fee the city paid. “We recouped all of that, plus it was good for the community,” she said. “The following fiscal year we actually got funding to fund a sports tourism effort in the department.”

Twenty years later—and after a lot more than 30 years involved in the destination marketing of Iowa’s second-largest city—Malmberg is preparing for a new adventure, this time in retirement. On Camiseta Selección de fútbol de Estados Unidos June 26, she will leave her longtime position as director of sports tourism for the Cedar Rapids tourism Office. Succeeding her will be Erik Hudson, the associate executive director of VenuWorks, which manages the city’s sports venues.

Strong City Advocate

For any individual who has attended a sports tourism-industry conference, it’s hard not to have come across Malmberg, a champion for her city.

“She is one of the most humble, hard-working people I’ve ever met,” said Gann, who competed for service with her for years in Sioux City after helping Malmberg with that first bid. “She takes notes. She does her homework.”

There was a learning curve in the early years, Malmberg said. “My youngest kid is the real jock,” she said. “He would opt for me to different sporting events and when I didn’t understand something, he’d describe it to me. I’ve become a Camiseta Flamengo terrific supporter over time but I had to learn along with the job. I had to learn about sports.”

Helping in Malmberg’s efforts was an investment in venues over the past few years in Cedar Rapids. following a devastating flood in 2008 that caused widespread damage, the city’s main arena—US Cellular Center—was renovated in 2013 with the addition of a convention center space and a Doubletree Hotel. The new venues, along with an ice arena and soccer complex, gave Malmberg even a lot more to market.

“Suddenly we had a stunning arena with a connected convention center where you could do warmups and have coaches’ meetings and walk into the venue where you’re going to compete,” she said. “It became a excellent new toy that I got to sell and it’s best for all these events I go after.”

Cedar Rapids had plans to Camiseta Selección de fútbol de Camerún host the 2020 USA Roller sports national Championships, which will now be held in 2021.
The compact footprint of the new convention space and hotel was useful on several fronts. “There was a renaissance with what happened downtown with restaurants and bars and things to do,” she said. “And it was all within walking distance of this terrific complex.”

That access remains compelling for rights holders. Cedar Rapids continues to land high-profile events. This year, it was scheduled to host the USA Roller sports national Championships, a 23-day event expected to produce 10,000 room nights. (The coronavirus pandemic has pushed that event back to 2021.) but the city is also scheduled to host the 2021 USA curling national championships and the 2020 and 2021 NJCAA division II Volleyball Championships. and considering that 1991, the city has hosted the Iowa state Volleyball Championships, an event that now attracts 30,000 competitors over four days.

More improvements Coming

Malmberg will be succeeded by Hudson, who in his role with VenuWorks oversees us Cellular center and is general manager of the ImOn Ice Arena, which is home to the USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. He will continue in the venue management role while overseeing the city’s sports tourism efforts.

“He’s been really terrific about following up with people and is very passionate about sports,” Malmberg said.

The ImOn Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids is about to undergo a $2.8 million renovation.
Among the improvements Hudson will sell to event organizers is a $2.8 million restoratinull