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Region strikes it big with bowling By TIM TROWER GRANTS PASS -- So, how difficult was it to lure the world's preeminent women's bowling tour to Southern Oregon? How much cajoling and pleading was there in negotiations? How much arm-twisting and begging? How much promise-making and hair-pulling? Not so much. "Mostly," says Dean Kerr, "it was a fluke." In fact, it's harder for some to go get the morning paper than it was for Kerr, owner of Showtime Family Lanes, to get the Professional Women's Bowling Association to make a stop here. All he had to do was pick up the phone five months ago. The PWBA, which completed its fourth event of the year Thursday in Las Vegas, competes in the Bowl the Rogue Open next week. It's part of a West Coast swing that takes the tour to Reno, Nev., the following week. Before the tournament, there will be exhibitions today and a pro-am tournament Sunday. The pros, vying for an $80,000 purse, take over Monday through Thursday, with television coverage of the stepladder finals by ESPN2. "It's the first time in the 10 years I've been involved with the Chamber of Commerce that I've seen anything on this scale," says Dwight Ellis, executive director of the Grants Pass chamber. The tournament will bring in hundreds of visitors, hundreds of thousands of dollars, provide national TV exposure to millions of homes and could become an annual event. All because Kerr wasn't screening his calls or out working in the garden when the PWBA called trying to fill an open date. "When they looked at the schedule, they realized they had to stay close to Reno, and there was no sure-fire place to go," says Kerr. The association called around to various centers. A couple of proprietors declined -- apparently because of the daunting prospect of putting on a big event on relatively short notice. Then it called Kerr, whose center has hosted a Northwest Region tournament, a PWBA minor league, for four years. "I guess you could say I was lucky because I stayed close to the phone," he says. "They said, `If you say yes, it's yours.' "I look at myself and say, `How come not Seattle? How come not Portland?' It's a golden opportunity, not only for Grants Pass but the entire Rogue Valley, to showcase itself." It was also a gamble. Kerr had to guarantee $15,000 in local sponsorships to supplement the purse. The bowling industry provides the other $65,000. "It looks like we made it," Ellis said Friday. "It was a last-minute thing." Local businesses came through, he noted, even though the ever-popular Boatnik Festival, which many businesses sink money into, is Memorial Day weekend. "This was kind of an additional, unbudgeted item for a lot of them," says Ellis. Kerr faced other challenges, to say the least. He had to get electrical and phone equipment in place for the PWBA staff, media and ESPN2. Bleachers were gleaned from the All Sports Park and placed in the center. The pro-am had to be organized and promoted and the house spruced up. "We want to make the bowling center as attractive and pleasing as best we can," he says. "It's like spring housecleaning before spring time." Equipment maintenance has been a priority. The last thing Kerr wants is a pinsetter to litter the deck with pins in the middle of play or the automated scoring screens to begin flashing soap opera scenes. By Ellis' estimations, all the work will be well worth it. He expects the tournament to draw, in addition to the 80 to 100 pro bowlers, 800 to 1,000 amateur bowlers and spectators. The economic boost to the area should be between $250,000 and $500,000, he says, and when the tournament airs on ESPN2 -- twice -- it's expected to go to 60 million homes each time. "ESPN has asked for videotape of the Grants Pass area and the Rogue River," says Ellis, "so we know the scenery will get coverage. The economic benefits of that will last far into the future. People will decide, `Hey, that's a really good looking place, and I want to go vacation there."' Further, the tournament comes during the area's "shoulder season." Providing activities and filling hotels from June to September isn't difficult. But things are slower in May and October, so anything that brings in outside dollars now is a bonus. The probability is that the Bowl the Rogue Open will become an annual PWBA event. Whenever the PWBA goes to a site, that site gets the right of first refusal for the following year, says Wyatt Slaughter, the association's tournament director. "The first year is always the toughest," he says. "Once you've been through it once, it gets easier." Talks are under way with several companies interested in becoming a major sponsor, Ellis says. To do so, a company would have to pony up $50,000. A decision should be reached soon so an announcement can be made during the tournament. "The best way to find sponsors is to get them excited while the tournament is here," says Ellis. Kerr has been on an emotional roller coaster since taking on the project. "There's the excitement of being able to host it," he says, "but there's also the fear of messing it up. You go from, `This is going to be great,' to, `Man, I hope I don't make a fool of myself.' "But I've been around tournaments long enough. I know how to get people on and off the lanes, so I have confidence that we'll pull it off." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA