What may be only a blip on media radar this week is actually a monumental mark in gay and lesbian history – at least as far as gay and lesbian sporting events and the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) are concerned. Yesterday, Chicago Games Inc. announced that the 2006 Gay Games financially had broken even.
In 2003, local organizers promised to make Chicago’s version of the seventh quadrennial Gay Games a financial success, largely based on an innovative and aggressive business plan that eventually netted a record 400 corporate sponsors.
There were any number of obstacles for the Windy City committee, not the least was having two fewer years of planning after being selected in a re-bid after FGG parted ways with original 2006 event host city Montreal just three years before the scheduled event. There also was the negative financial legacy of past games, with Sydney’s 2002 games hitting a seven-figure loss, which threatened the future of the Gay Games themselves.
rAdditionally, the Gay Games last year faced its first-ever competition from another international sports and culture festival, held by Montreal organizers who adjusted their Gay Games plans to become the first OutGames. Held only a few weeks after the 2006 Gay Games, Montreal’s OutGames went on to lose several million dollars itself despite significant government funding.
So, the 2006 Gay Games broke even. That’s monumentally good news, but the communications issue here is that the despite the great news of this financial milestone a year after the 2006 games concluded, the headline of the story is buried… more likely, it’s deleted.
In fact, the Gay Games 2006 a year ago were already the most financially successful in recent games. Of the most recent events, Chicago bettered past host city’s seven-figure deficits easily by ending the summer of 2006 only a couple hundred thousand dollars in the red.
Over the past year, the Chicago organizers worked tirelessly to make that financial mark even more significant with a string of post-game fund raisers and continuing calls for donations. At times, in the past year, it seemed like the outstretched hand and open palm of Gay Games 2006 might become a permanent fixture in the city. The situation was bordering on the precipice of rumor and damage control communications issue for many months.
However, the risky tactic or perseverance worked. Now Chicago Games can officially say they made good on a promise to break even, despite the odds stacked against them. It’s also not an understatement that “Chicago Saved the Gay Games” as Outsports.com headlined an updated post upon yesterday’s news.
Locally, Chicago tourism estimates say that the 2006 Gay Games themselves contributed $50 to $80 million to the local economy, with some estimating that another 10 years of positive LGBT tourism visibility will generate millions more dollars in the long term.
Also, the Gay Games organizers, athletes, volunteers and supporters also can lay claim to a successful event that by all accounts, including Chicago Mayor Richard M Daley, helped set the stage for Chicago successful bid and recent selection as the U.S. designee in the race to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Bottom line: This has been a win-win for Chicago, for the Gay Games and for corporate sponsorships of LGBT events in the future.
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