By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

If Osceola County has its way — and ESPN’s Wide World of Sports is willing to do all it can to help — the two entities will work toward a new title that doesn’t involve out-of-towners just coming in to visit a theme park.

See if this has a certain ring to it: Osceola County – Amateur Sports Capital of the World.

Partnering the marketing maelstrom and the name-brand clout that ESPN and Disney bring, with the influx of amateur sporting events that already dot the local landscape annually, is part of a proposal on the table to bring the two into a working marketing relationship.

If the county approves the funding from the tourist development tax, at a cost of $10 million over three years, the county, Disney and ESPN would come together to form a marketing events acquisition program.

Parts of the agreement, of which the bullet points were presented by Disney Sports Enterprises Senior Vice President Ken Potrock at a county meeting in May, include rebranding the Wide World of Sports welcome center kiosk to reflect a partnership with the county.

In the agreement, the county would purchase nine basketball courts, which could be used at Osceola Heritage Park inside the Silver Spurs Arena and the adjoining Exhibition Building. Four of those have already been purchased and have been in use during the Youth Basketball of America’s Boys National Championship, which started on June 26 and has brought upward of 350 teams to the region.

Potrock said that youth sports travel remains the steadiest and most resilient segment of travel.

“Parents will make sacrifices in a weak economy, but they’re hesitant to take things from their kids,” he said. “Amateur sports is an appropriate niche that Osceola County can own.”

He said that before proceeding with a brand campaign, ESPN Wide World of Sports could and would help with a preliminary process that involves auditing the county facilities and how they are used and examining existing marketing used to highlight the area’s hotels, facilities, weather and transportation.

“We’re a proud member of Osceola County, too,” Potrock said. “We believe that a rising tide should lift all boats equally.”

By marketing with Disney — instead of against it, as has been the norm over the years — the hope is that the agreement would reduce overall Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau marketing costs, as some of the funding would cover spending the bureau already lays out, making resources available to put toward other projects.

All of this is one part of a small handful of proposals under consideration for tourist tax funding, bureau Public Relations Manager Larry White said. The board is slated to brief county commissioners at an upcoming meeting to discuss how to proceed.

“It is one of several we are looking at and analyzing in preparation for next month’s briefing to the county,” he said. “Until then and we get direction from the commissioners, it’s premature to comment on the merits or specific aspects of any of the proposals.”

Summer is already a busy time in the corridor for amateur and youth sports. The Amateur Athletic Union holds its national championship baseball and basketball tournaments at Disney annually and is bringing in the national volleyball tournament this year. The YBOA event will be filling up Wide World of Sports, local gyms and Osceola Heritage Park.

The United States Specialty Sports Association, based at Osceola Heritage Park, holds national baseball tournaments as well through May and June. Those baseball events usually use local high school fields to play preliminary rounds, with rental fees benefiting those programs. Osceola County Stadium also hosts baseball tournaments throughout the summer that are not affiliated with USSSA or AAU.

Many of these youth events would be buoyed by tapping into the resources of ESPN’s Rise Magazine, the network’s publication dedicated to high school-aged athletes, their teams and ranking them.