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For more information, contact: SPORTS COMMISSION ISSUES STATEMENT IN WAKE OF SPORTING NEWS BEST SPORTS CITY SELECTION ST. LOUIS – Aug. 7, 2001 – The dreaded day hath come. St. Louis relinquished its title as The Sporting News’ Best Sports City today. The magazine selected New York its top sports market for 2001. After abruptly canceling his TSN subscription and hurling a box of magazines out his downtown office window, St. Louis Sports Commission President Frank Viverito issued the following statement: "John Rawlings is a weasel. "Perhaps Rawlings [editor of TSN] and The Sporting News were just tired of being called ‘homers’ after choosing the magazine’s headquarters their Best Sports City for 2000 – much to the chagrin of skeptics across the continent. We may not have won a major championship in 2001, but we’re still one of only four cities that had three or more major league teams in the playoffs this year; and St. Louis was the only city with at least three major league teams to get them all into postseason play. "But in all seriousness, we thank John and the folks over at The Sporting News for all the fun we’ve had over the past year and all the mileage we’ve been able to get out of the Best Sports City designation. The title has provided us a tremendous tool and asset to market St. Louis as a premier sports region, especially as we pursue a variety of high-profile events for our community. And even more important, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot locally because of Best Sports City. It’s another element that makes St. Louisans feel proud of their hometown. Last year, we emphasized it was important to make the most of The Sporting News announcement. We couldn’t be more pleased with how our teams, the business community and our fans responded. Ultimately in our hearts and minds, we know St. Louis is still the best sports city in America. With the nation’s best fans – and a sports tradition unrivaled anywhere else, we’ll continue to promote it as such. And just like the Cardinals list all of their World Series championships on their letterhead, we’d love to be able to do the same thing 25 or 50 years from now with the Best Sports City title. Years from now, we’ll be listing a dozen or so Best Sports City titles on our own letterhead." The St. Louis Sports Commission is the regional non-profit organization that enriches St. Louis through sports. Its mission is to generate economic benefit and enhanced quality of life in the St. Louis region through sports events, national promotion, local awareness, amateur sports development and youth programs. |
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