The United States Bowling Congress (USBC), the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA) Board of Directors and the Reno City Council have approved revisions to the hosting agreement for USBC Championships tournaments.
Key changes include shifting the USBC Open and Women’s Championships back to their historical rotation of visiting Reno once every three years, adjusting the site fee and extending the completion date for renovations at the National Bowling Stadium (NBS).
“With this agreement, the RSCVA and the City of Reno are demonstrating a deep and unquestionable commitment to bowling and our USBC membership,” USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy (pictured right) said.
“Reno’s city and business leaders are true partners for USBC, and we thank everyone involved for supporting these revisions, which will strengthen the future of our sport and bowling’s relationship with Reno.”
As part of the amendment, the RSCVA will increase the site fee to USBC from $20 per bowler to $30 for the duration of the agreement except the 2015 and 2018 events.
The agreement also allows a more flexible timeline for the city in renovating the NBS. Stadium seating demolition now is shifted from 2016 to 2020 and exterior renovations from 2018 to 2022.
According to RSCVA President and CEO Christopher Baum, “The Reno tourism community cherishes our longstanding relationship with USBC, and the fact that the City of Reno, the RSCVA and our major resort partners were able to respond to our largest customer’s concerns with a new, win-win agreement through 2026 speaks volumes about our friendship and mutual respect for each other.”
The schedule change in the new agreement allows the Open and Women’s Championships to visit an eastern location more regularly and opens up the 2022 Open Championships and 2024 Women’s Championships for new host cities.
USBC and Reno leaders expect this will boost excitement and participation in Reno years. To accommodate the new rotation, the amendment changes the length of the USBC contract with Reno to run through 2026 instead of 2030 as previously agreed.
“Members in the eastern half of the country have asked our leadership for USBC Championships to visit near them more frequently,” Murphy said.
“The reason we approached our partners in Reno for this change is to meet the needs of the customer and build more participation in the tournament. Traveling east will be a big part of the future as we expose new bowlers to the championships. The goal is to keep them coming back to all of our host cities including Reno.”
“Bowling is incredibly important to Reno’s economic well-being, and we are excited to continue welcoming USBC participants to The Biggest Little City in the future,” Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said. “This amended agreement is a big win for our community, as we look ahead to continuing our long-term partnership with the USBC.”
In order to accommodate the schedule changes in the amendment, an adjustment also was required to previously announced Las Vegas host dates for the 2022 Women’s Championships and 2023 Open Championships.
