PRINCETON AREA: Special Olympics to attract visitors and dollars

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   Local residents can expect to see an influx of about 60,000 visitors and $50 million in tourism revenue in three years when the Special Olympics brings the USA National Games to the area.
   The games will take place June 13 to 21, 2014, and be centered in and around Princeton and the Greater Mercer County area. Venues will include Princeton University, Rider University, The College of New Jersey and Mercer County Park.
   The New Jersey Devils have offered the Prudential Center in Newark as the venue for the Opening Ceremonies.
   It is projected, based on past Special Olympics Games, that hotel room nights, dining, shopping, car rentals, tourism and more could reach $50 million during the week of the games.
   The National Games will feature nearly 3,500 athletes competing in 14 Olympic-style sports, with the support of 1,000 volunteer coaches, 8,000 volunteers and an estimated 50,000 family, friends and spectators.
   A Special Olympian is someone with an intellectual disability, said Marc Edenzon, president of Special Olympics New Jersey. Olympians begin participation at age 8.
   ”We have athletes in their senior years who compete in bocce and race walking, we provide such a wide variety of events so we can accommodate all ages and abilities,” he said.
   ”The games are free for every athlete that attends and that is something fundamental to these games,” said Mr. Edenzon. “When the athletes arrive, the housing, meals, special events will be funded by the games’ organizers.”
   Each state assumes the funding responsibilities for their delegation, including transportation, training and uniforms. Most of the funding for the Special Olympics New Jersey comes from private sources, said Mr. Edenzon.
   The National Games are held every four years, one year prior to the World Games. Some of the Team New Jersey athletes will be participating in the World Games in Athens this summer.
   Running the National Games costs $10 to $15 million, he said.
   ”We had to submit a comprehensive bid to host the Olympics. We were up against Kansas and Boston. We were awarded the games based on the fund-raising model and the strength of the games in New Jersey and the idea that we are in a high profile media market, said Mr. Edenzon.”
   The New Jersey and New York media market was attractive to the games’ organizers.
   ”The 2014 Special Olympics USA National Games will produce an unprecedented level of national awareness through the engagement of the largest media market in the world and including corporate leadership from the tri-state area and throughout the country,” said TJ Nelligan, chairman and CEO, 2014 USA National Games Organizing Committee.
   Exposure in this media market will be great for the athletes as well with national coverage.
   ”They’ve come here to get some visibility and make people aware of what the Special Olympics are and what they accomplish,” said Peter Crowley, CEO of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce.
   ” The hotels will be packed, the restaurants will be packed and the cultural attractions will be impacted,” he said.
   That week in June 2014 could be a boon for all area attractions, as visitors will be looking for things to do in their spare time, said Mr. Crowley.
   The chamber will be working on partnership programs with local businesses with the Princeton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, a destination marketing organization for tourism under the chamber. The Mercer County Economic Development office will also be brought into the process, as will the municipalities.
   ”We are working with all the hotels on the Route 1 corridor, the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Mercer County Chamber and we look forward to approaching the State Chamber of Commerce,” said Mr. Edenzon.
   Even before the games begin, the Special Olympics will be bringing tourism dollars to the region as planning meetings, volunteer orientations and test events take place leading up to June 2014.
   The games also mean job growth.
   ”There will be full- and part-time positions that will be hired by the 2014 games organizing committee,” said Mr. Edenzon, who has been president since 1995 and was a volunteer since mid-1970s, when he was a special education student at Rutgers University.
   ”People don’t realize what’s going to happen and what will take place in 2014,” he said. “It’s pretty remarkable what’s going to happen and we’re excited about making an impact nationally, but just as excited about what’s happening in New Jersey.”