Ski Industry Pitches To National Audience
Monday Night Football Audience To See Inviting Pictures Of Snow
POSTED: 2:34 p.m. MST November 11, 2002
UPDATED: 4:43 p.m. MST November 11, 2002
DENVER -- Monday night's game will bring a lot of attention to Denver and the timing couldn't be better from a tourism point of view, 7NEWS reported.
Colorado's tourism industry, hurt by this year's drought and the bad publicity of summer wildfires, could use a boost. And now, it has something many people want to come visit -- several feet of fresh powder in the high country, thanks to a weekend of heavy snow.
Along with the football match-up between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders, the national audience for Monday night's game will see plenty of pictures of skiers enjoying fresh powder in the high country -- and that can translate into big business for Colorado.
"What it does is really get the phone to start to ring, and people visit the Web sites, and people get excited that it's ski season again," said Colorado Ski Country spokesman Bob Perlman.
Colorado Ski Country arranged for special video shots with skiers and boarders skiing through and around a Monday Night Football sign -- commemorating the 500th game anniversary -- in hopes that the network will use them.
In 1984's "Snow Bowl," the Broncos and the Green Bay Packers played during heavy snow on Monday night, and the formula worked, 7NEWS reported. The game boosted the number of ski enthusiasts flocking to the state -- people immediately picked up the phone and booked ski vacations.
"The ski resorts indicate that their reservations go up as high as 40-percent increase the next day over something that simple," said Eugene Dilbeck, President of the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"It costs hundreds of thousands to get a paid advertisement. What we do is try to get free publicity out of it. That's free for us, and great for the state in general, in terms of the economy and tourism," Perlman said.
Photographer Bob Mikkelson spent the weekend in a plane, capturing aerial video of Denver landmarks, so that it can be spliced through game coverage and become a visual invitation for viewers.
"We always start off the Monday night broadcasts with a shot of the city. This is where you're coming, this is where America's coming to watch football," said Mikkelson.
And what a season to be invited: The snowpack in almost all of Colorado's river basins is at 121 percent of average or higher, 7NEWS reported.
At this time last year, the snowpack was at about 75 percent of average. But the snow needs to keep coming or the snowpack percentage could fall by next spring, when the state depends on the runoff for its water supply.
For the 175 crew members working to put the game on the air, this is more than just another stop in the schedule: Monday night's show marks a milestone.
"I think that everyone is proud of the fact that this show has made it to 500 broadcasts. There've been a lot of great high spots over the years, and again, I just think there's a pride in doing that many shows and that many great telecasts," said production manager Bob Simon.
Colorado's tourism industry, hurt by this year's drought and the bad publicity of summer wildfires, could use a boost. And now, it has something many people want to come visit -- several feet of fresh powder in the high country, thanks to a weekend of heavy snow.
Along with the football match-up between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders, the national audience for Monday night's game will see plenty of pictures of skiers enjoying fresh powder in the high country -- and that can translate into big business for Colorado.
"What it does is really get the phone to start to ring, and people visit the Web sites, and people get excited that it's ski season again," said Colorado Ski Country spokesman Bob Perlman.
Colorado Ski Country arranged for special video shots with skiers and boarders skiing through and around a Monday Night Football sign -- commemorating the 500th game anniversary -- in hopes that the network will use them.
In 1984's "Snow Bowl," the Broncos and the Green Bay Packers played during heavy snow on Monday night, and the formula worked, 7NEWS reported. The game boosted the number of ski enthusiasts flocking to the state -- people immediately picked up the phone and booked ski vacations.
"The ski resorts indicate that their reservations go up as high as 40-percent increase the next day over something that simple," said Eugene Dilbeck, President of the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"It costs hundreds of thousands to get a paid advertisement. What we do is try to get free publicity out of it. That's free for us, and great for the state in general, in terms of the economy and tourism," Perlman said.
Photographer Bob Mikkelson spent the weekend in a plane, capturing aerial video of Denver landmarks, so that it can be spliced through game coverage and become a visual invitation for viewers.
"We always start off the Monday night broadcasts with a shot of the city. This is where you're coming, this is where America's coming to watch football," said Mikkelson.
And what a season to be invited: The snowpack in almost all of Colorado's river basins is at 121 percent of average or higher, 7NEWS reported.
At this time last year, the snowpack was at about 75 percent of average. But the snow needs to keep coming or the snowpack percentage could fall by next spring, when the state depends on the runoff for its water supply.
For the 175 crew members working to put the game on the air, this is more than just another stop in the schedule: Monday night's show marks a milestone.
"I think that everyone is proud of the fact that this show has made it to 500 broadcasts. There've been a lot of great high spots over the years, and again, I just think there's a pride in doing that many shows and that many great telecasts," said production manager Bob Simon.
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