Longview secures additional year as host of US national championships
After securing the Balloon Federation of America’s U.S. National Championship for a fourth year, Great Texas Balloon Race officials said they intend to hand off the reins in 2016.
“I thought that we had done such a good job … that we would seek the possibility of them adding just one year to our invent,” said Bill Bussey, Great Texas Balloon Race founder and championship liaison.
The championship usually is awarded to a city for three years, but officials with Longview’s ballooning event announced Monday that after completing the second of an originally three-year stint in conjunction with the Great Texas Balloon Race, the national organization had sought and accepted a bid to host the event for a fourth year.
Organizers do not intend to host the event again after 2015, said Gai Bennett, marketing and public relations director for the nonprofit organization that runs the Great Texas Balloon Race.
“It’s hard on us. It is hard on the volunteers. We are extremely proud of having it, but it is harder than what we are used to. It is a full week’s competition rather than three days,” Bennett said. “We have the greatest sponsors, and they have stepped up, and said yes we will cover it another year, but we need a break financially.”
The Balloon Federation of America considered letters of intent when they met last month in Ohio.
“The decision to return to Longview for an extra year was easy,” federation President Sam Parks said. “The Great Texas Balloon Race has a proven track record of hosting first-class, competitive balloon events and over the course of the last two years they have proven quite well that they can organize and run our federation’s premier competition event.”
The two events have been held concurrently since 2012 at the East Texas Regional Airport.
“I am beyond pleased with the extra year for the Hot Air Balloon National Championship 2015, which has been granted to us by the Balloon Federation of America,” Bussey said. “The top winners of the 2014 and 2015 Nationals will make up the team that represents the United States at the world championship in 2016. This is truly a dream come true for Longview. And we are very proud of the boost this provides to the local economy.”
Bussey said representatives from Canton, Ohio, and Baton Rouge, La. — two “powerful” cities that are looking to host the event after Longview — will be invited to the 2015 event.
Hosting the event has raised raised the prominence of Longview’s Great Texas Balloon Race and, Bussey said, he hopes balloonists who have been coming to the national competition will mark their calendar for Longview’s event even after the U.S. National Championships move to a different city.
“Quite honestly our event is so strong that I am doubtful that they would have (the national championships) the same date that we do,” Bussey said.
Bennett agreed.
“I think what has happened is the national event has introduced us to people outside of our immediate regional area,” she said.
Mayor Jay Dean said the extension of the balloon race was good news not just for Longview but the greater region.
“I think that in light of the numbers that were reported recently, it is a good thing not only for the city of Longview, but for all the communities of East Texas,” he said, referencing a study from the Longview Chamber of Commerce that found that the Great Texas Balloon Race brought about $900,000 to the city this year. “I think that is good news, considering last year we had lots of weather days, I am glad they gave us an additional year.”
Next year’s events are scheduled for July 28 to Aug. 3.
