{"id":14750,"date":"2012-07-27T09:35:56","date_gmt":"2012-07-27T13:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=14750"},"modified":"2012-08-16T09:45:20","modified_gmt":"2012-08-16T13:45:20","slug":"wright-state-nutter-center-economic-engine-university-ambassador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2012\/07\/27\/wright-state-nutter-center-economic-engine-university-ambassador\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State Nutter Center: Economic engine, university ambassador"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Exterior<\/a>

From March 20 to April 30, the Nutter Center hosted 48 events in 33 days. The events drew 73,000 people and produced $1.3 million in ticket sales.<\/p><\/div>\n

At City Barbeque in Beavercreek, there are typical nights and then there are Nutter Center nights.<\/p>\n

Sales at the barbeque restaurant jump by as much as $1,000 a night when the Wright State Nutter Center hosts a concert, conference or other large event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a big surprise to end up with a line at the door before we close up shop,\u201d said Bryan Chappell, general manager at City Barbeque. \u201cIt makes for a very interesting evening very quick. You start calling in the troops.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nutter Center is an economic engine for the region, putting money into the pockets of motels, shops and restaurants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe economic impact is the No. 1 thing for the community,\u201d said Jim Brown, executive director of the Nutter Center.<\/p>\n

From March 20 to April 30, the Nutter Center hosted 48 events in 33 days. The events drew 73,000 people and produced $1.3 million in ticket sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s pretty huge,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Carrie Underwood performing at the Wright State University Nutter Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

On one weekend in April alone, the Nutter Center hosted a baseball card show on the concourse, set up for and hosted a Mac Miller concert, staged a three-day basketball tournament and hosted Taste of Greene County, in which about two dozen local restaurants offered tastes of their cuisine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWright State University\u2019s Nutter Center is a major part of the county\u2019s travel and tourism infrastructure,\u201d said Kathleen Young, executive director of the Greene County Convention & Visitors Bureau. \u201cThe Nutter Center draws big numbers of overnighters.\u00a0 That translates into very positive economic impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the past 17 years, Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky have come to the Nutter Center for their annual district convention. They fill the arena on Friday-Saturday-Sunday over four weekends. This year, the convention drew an estimated 30,000 people and pumped $14.1 million into the local economy.<\/p>\n

The Winter Guard World Championships are held at the Nutter Center for two weekends each year, drawing an estimated 2,000 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll have teams from California, Colorado. They come from all over,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThat\u2019s really free publicity and advertising for Wright State University.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

The Wright State Nutter Center has long been an ideal spot to host regional high school athletics events like wrestling tournaments.<\/p><\/div>\n

The championships, which also use arenas at the University of Dayton and Xavier University, attract about 40,000 people and bring in about $15 million to Greene and Montgomery counties.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly when we\u2019re looking at some of the larger citywide events that use multiple venues, they have a tremendous impact in what they are able to bring in,\u201d said Jacqui Powell, president and CEO of the Dayton\/Montgomery County Convention & Visitors Bureau.<\/p>\n

The Nutter Center is also Wright State\u2019s front porch, introducing the university to many potential students.<\/p>\n

The arena hosted 14 high school graduations last spring, drawing 6,000 graduates and 45,000 spectators. The schools pay $3,000 apiece to rent the arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of our outreach for the university,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe want to plant that seed that Wright State is the place to go for the siblings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

The scene at the Wright State University Nutter Center just before Republican presidential nominee John McCain announced he was choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m a sophomore and my older brother or sister is graduating and I\u2019m sitting there thinking \u2018I would like to be a doctor,\u2019 the Wright State Boonshoft School of Medicine is right there,\u201d Brown added.<\/p>\n

The nearby athletic fields are advertisements for Wright State\u2019s extracurriculars as well as its athletic trainers program.<\/p>\n

The Nutter Center and Wright State also enjoy spinoff from the annual Air Force Marathon, hosting both a 5K run and the Sport and Fitness Expo featuring scores of exhibitors displaying the latest developments in sports, fitness and nutrition.<\/p>\n

Brown said the 5K and expo demonstrate Wright State\u2019s involvement with the military and help recruit both traditional and non-traditional students by introducing people with a wide range of ages, backgrounds and hometowns to the campus.<\/p>\n

The marathon and related races attract about 35,000 runners and supporters from around the world and make a $12.7 million splash in the local economy.<\/p>\n

Nutter Center events can also strengthen the support of donors and alumni.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re an alumnus of Wright State, you\u2019re proud that people are coming through that building,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

Check out this video from a very busy Four days at the Nutter Center back in 2011.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t