In July of 2015, Fairfax, Va. will host the World Police and Fire Games, an Olympic-style athletic competition for public safety personnel from across the world.
Mason’s Fairfax campus will host nine of the 68 sporting events during the ten-day event from June 26 – July 5.
Founded in 1985, the World Police and Fire Games are a biennial event that offers international firefighters, policemen, customs and corrections officers a chance to showcase their athletic skills and represent their countries in a competitive arena.
The games have been hosted all around the world, and will stop in Belfast, North Ireland in 2013, before coming to Fairfax.
Though Mason has no obligation as the host site to entertain and serve the athletes and spectators, Benn Crandall, Director of Auxiliary Enterprises, is planning several business ventures for the event.
“From a business perspective, it behooves us to do the best job we can,” Crandall said.
Crandall hopes for the university to purchase a software program that would allow for the open summer dorm rooms to be rented out like a hotel rooms to athletes and spectators during the games.
“For a very small investment, we can make up to a six figure profit over the course of 10 days,” said Crandall.
In addition to turning the residence dorms into a hotel, Crandall would like to see food trucks and other food services marketed to the visitors to campus.
“It depends how much we want to spend on resources up front. With no advertising or work, we will make a small profit from this event,” Crandall said. “But if we market and advertise and make some investments, we’re poised to make a lot of money.”
The 2015 games are being put together by the non-profit group Fairfax 2015, which has been working on the project since 2006, when the first draft proposals were created.
Bruce Blechl, executive director of Fairfax 2015 and lieutenant from Fairfax County Police Department, has put his work as an officer on hold to work full-time on the committee to put the games together.
Since the event will be hosted in the summer, Crandall and Blechl do not expect there to be problems with traffic.
Blechl said that the completion of the tunnel connecting Main Campus to West Campus, in conjunction with the fact that athletes will be transported using buses on loan from Fairfax County, will mean that traffic will hardly be affected at all.
To facilitate the events, volunteers will be needed to staff event and registration tables. As the date for the event draws closer, the county, Fairfax 2015 and Mason will be looking for volunteers to help.
Blechl said that the games are another way for international public safety personnel to give back to the community, both their own and the public. Donations will be made to organizations that support fallen heroes and young athletes.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring an event of this style to not only GMU, but to Fairfax county as well,” Crandall said.
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