The Music City, along with Chattanooga, Tenn., and Huntsville, Ala., have been selected as destinations for an annual trip by local leaders to learn about economic development strategies, business practices and public policy initiatives in other cities.
The trips, which began several years ago, have taken participants to Omaha, Neb., Portland, Ore., Charlotte, N.C., Austin, Texas, Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City. This year’s trip takes place June 23-26.
“It’s changed the whole mindset for the people who are on the trips,” said Stephannie Finley, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs’ executive director of University Advocacy and Partnerships. “They discover what works, what doesn’t and what’s making these other communities so successful.
“When we go, we get to discover the secret sauce for each city,” she added. “And then we come back here and we apply what we learned.”
A second benefit of the trips: getting people away from their day-to-day environments so they can concentrate on new ideas and build relationships, Finley said.
Nashville was chosen for this year’s trip, in part, because it’s home to Vanderbilt University, she said.
Local and UCCS health care officials will learn more about the school’s health and wellness programs and how the university’s medical campus helps promotes Nashville’s sports economy. The Springs has its sports economy that local officials are trying to grow; the city is home to the U.S. Olympic Committee and about two dozen amateur sports groups, among other sports-related businesses. UCCS meanwhile, is seeking to build a sports medicine center.
The Colorado Springs group also will learn about Nashville’s tourism and sports activities and the city’s effort to brand itself. Nashville is known as Music City, in part, because of the presence of the Grand Ole Opry, Christian record companies and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, among other attractions. A new downtown Nashville minor league baseball stadium opened last week.
A side trip to Chattanooga will include a look at that city’s successful downtown redevelopment efforts. The trip to Huntsville will focus on how that community leverages its defense and aerospace assets – including NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center – to attract defense contractors and other employers.
Past trips have planted seeds with Springs-area leaders that contributed to several local initiatives, including the City for Champions tourism proposal and a merger of the former Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and Colorado Springs Regional Economic Development Corp., Finley said.
About 30 to 50 people typically attend the trip; so far, 20 people have signed up, she said.
“We’re not trying for big numbers,” Finley said. “We’re trying more to have people who are excited about this area and who want to generate possibilities and outcomes.”
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