Birmingham Organizing Committee

The Birmingham Organizing Committee of the World Games (BOC) was a non-profit organization formed in 2014 to prepare a formal bid for Birmingham to host the World Games, and to plan and produce the event after the bid was accepted.

Birmingham resident Ron Froehlich, who as president of the International World Games Association from 1992 to 2014, had invited a delegation of Birmingham leaders to the 2013 World Games hosted in Cali, Colombia. That delegation supported the creation of an organizing committee to bid for the 2021 games

Scott Myers and Edgar Weldon of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame led the newly-formed group, which submitted a 350-page proposal to the IWGA in June 2014. David Benck of Hibbett Sports and Birmingham City Council president Johnathan Austin accompanied Myers and Weldon when they made the final pitch at IWGA headquarters. IWGA president José Perurena announced Birmingham as the winning bidder on January 22, 2015.

Alabama Power executive Jonathan Porter succeeded Weldon as chair of the Birmingham Organizing Committee in July 2016. In March 2017 veteran event organizer D. J. Mackovets was hired as the nonprofit's Chief Executive Officer. He led a budget process that whittled the originally-discussed figure of $75 million down to a proposal for a $48 million event announced in December 2017.

Mackovets resigned in late 2019 and was succeeded by Alabama Power Company executive and Alabama Sports Council chair Nick Sellers. The decision to postpone the games for one year was made in April 2020, immediately following the announcement that the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics would be postponed to 2021.

Following the conclusion of the World Games, the BOC reported that the total amount expended to produce the event was $65.1 million, about $10 million below initial projections, but $17 million more than that December 2017 budget. Revenues generated through public appropriations, sponsorships, tickets and merchandise sales, however, were only $51 million, leaving a $14.1 million shortfall, which was announced in August 2022.

The Birmingham City Council, Greater Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Jefferson County Commission combined to contribute an additional $10 million to help retire the committee's debts.

Board and staff

• Board of Directors: Jonathan Porter (chair), Scott Adams (vice chair), Leroy Abrahams (treasurer), David Benck (secretary), Sheri Cook, Rebekah Elgin-Council, Monique Rogers, Bobby Humphrey, Scott Myers, John Oros, Andrea Smith, Britney Summerville, Marc Tyson, Lisa Warren, Emmett McLean, Pamela Cook, Mark Ingram, Tad Snider, Joe Knight, Jeff Underwood, Brian Barr, Ryan Austin, Brian Burnett, Rondal Mathieu
• Staff: Nick Sellers (chief executive officer), John Bryant (chief financial officer), Jay Kasten (chief operating officer), Justin Watson (chief technology officer), Corletee Stewart Burns (chief protocol officer), Dee Dee Mathis (executive vice president, sales), Jay Roberson (vice president, sales), Kathy Boswell (vice president, community engagement), Steve Mistrot (VP, Sport), Rick Edwards (vice president, event services), Michaela Bromelow (vice president, marketing), Renee Moore (director of administration), Ron Froelich (special advisor), Justin Spinks, Larry Simmons, Jerethia Blake, Robins Bonner, Nicole Fyffe, Katey Harris, Caroline Fields, Frank Kay

References

• Tomberlin, Michael (June 8, 2014) "Birmingham making bid to host 2021 World Games with projected $256.5 million economic impact" The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (January 22, 2014) "Birmingham wins! City chosen as site for 2021 World Games." The Birmingham News
• Poe, Kelly (January 22, 2015) "Economist: Birmingham is probably going to lose money hosting the World Games, and that's OK." The Birmingham News
• Johnson, Roy S. (September 27, 2016) "World Games CEO visits Birmingham, meets board, says there's 'a lot to do'." The Birmingham News
• Poe, Kelly (March 12, 2017) "Five questions with the new head of Birmingham's World Games." The Birmingham News
• Edgemon, Erin (December 6, 2017) "Birmingham World Games 2021 will cost estimated $50 million, most from corporate sponsors." The Birmingham News
• Estes, Cary (September 2019) "How Birmingham is prepping to host the 2021 World Games." Birmingham magazine
• Johnson, Roy S. (December 4, 2019) "DJ Mackovets out as World Games 2021 CEO, replaced by Alabama Power exec Nick Sellers." The Birmingham News
• Patchen, Tyler (December 6, 2019) "New World Games CEO Nick Sellers on vision for the games, plans and more." Birmingham Business Journal
• Beahm, Anna (March 5, 2020) "It’s less than 500 days away; World Games exec says halfway to $50 million goal." The Birmingham News
• Wood, Cecilia (August 26, 2021) "'This is the new generation of sports.' Meet Nick Sellers, CEO of The World Games 2022." Bham Now
• Johnson, Roy S. (July 6, 2022) "Roy S. Johnson: Birmingham, stop fretting over World Games prep; we’re ready, or we’ll never be." The Birmingham News
• Sellers, Nick (July 18, 2022) "World Games CEO to Birmingham: ‘This was our Gold Medal moment." The Birmingham News
• Garrison, Greg (July 19, 2022) "World Games had high cost, hard to measure returns for Birmingham" The Birmingham News
• O'Leary, A. J. (August 16, 2022) "World Games posts $14M shortfall, metro leaders scramble for funds." Birmingham Business Journal
• Johnson, Roy S. (August 16, 2022) "Birmingham World Games 2022 debt: Who’s owed what." The Birmingham News

External links

• Organizing Committee at twg2022.com