Event experts Kevin Smith of the 2016 Ryder Cup, Mike Logan of Twin Cities in Motion (producer of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and other events) and Leah Wong of the Minneapolis Downtown Council shared their insights and expertise in a recent Good Morning Minneapolis (GMM) entitled The Event Economy. The GMM series was originated by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber and now includes the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Meet Minneapolis as partners.

These panelists brought their experience together as organizers of events like our local treasure, Holidazzle, to a top 10 national marathon to a bi-annual international golf event that will likely not return here within our lifetimes.

One of the key takeaways of the session came from Leah Wong of the Downtown Council who said that, "converging events move the needle." Her observation manifested itself last weekend. Minneapolis and its environs hosted several major events on top of the staples like the Mill City Farmer's Market and our vibrant live music and theater scenes. The WNBA champs Minnesota Lynx defeated the Seattle Storm, the Vikings started off things right in their new U.S. Bank Stadium home with a win against the Chargers and more than 100,000 people a day were a short distance away enjoying all that's new on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair. This critical mass of events helps to compress visitor traffic beyond just the most popular and well-known areas into our neighborhoods and other areas of town, allowing more businesses to benefit from the tourism economy.

Special also events bring diverse groups of people together who might not normally mingle, and they also help to bring a destination's brand to life. Emerging research from our Destination Transformation 2030 initiative indicates that the value of special events is even greater within communities of color. When asked where they take their visitors, cultural festivals, foods and shopping were cited as top activities by local residents of color.

When asked if they felt Minneapolis could host a future Olympics, I saw an initial look of panic on the faces of Kevin Smith and Mike Logan since the Ryder Cup and the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon are coming up very soon on consecutive weekends. After Mike and Kevin regained their composure, all three panelists were unanimous in their feeling that we could make an Olympics happen in our community although it would be a huge lift.

Converging events will become more and more the norm moving forward with a new Nicollet Mall on the way, a renewed interest in activating Hennepin Avenue, a reimagined Target Center, along with Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium. But the real opportunity to move the needle is when creative event professionals like Mike, Leah and Kevin help to conceive and executive great activities for our community's residents and visitors.

Event experts Kevin Smith of the 2016 Ryder Cup, Mike Logan of Twin Cities in Motion (producer of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and other events) and Leah Wong of the Minneapolis Downtown Council shared their insights and expertise in a recent Good Morning Minneapolis (GMM) entitled The Event Economy. The GMM series was originated by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber and now includes the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Meet Minneapolis as partners.

These panelists brought their experience together as organizers of events like our local treasure, Holidazzle, to a top 10 national marathon to a bi-annual international golf event that will likely not return here within our lifetimes.

One of the key takeaways of the session came from Leah Wong of the Downtown Council who said that, "converging events move the needle." Her observation manifested itself last weekend. Minneapolis and its environs hosted several major events on top of the staples like the Mill City Farmer's Market and our vibrant live music and theater scenes. The WNBA champs Minnesota Lynx defeated the Seattle Storm, the Vikings started off things right in their new U.S. Bank Stadium home with a win against the Chargers and more than 100,000 people a day were a short distance away enjoying all that's new on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair. This critical mass of events helps to compress visitor traffic beyond just the most popular and well-known areas into our neighborhoods and other areas of town, allowing more businesses to benefit from the tourism economy.

Special also events bring diverse groups of people together who might not normally mingle, and they also help to bring a destination's brand to life. Emerging research from our Destination Transformation 2030 initiative indicates that the value of special events is even greater within communities of color. When asked where they take their visitors, cultural festivals, foods and shopping were cited as top activities by local residents of color.

When asked if they felt Minneapolis could host a future Olympics, I saw an initial look of panic on the faces of Kevin Smith and Mike Logan since the Ryder Cup and the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon are coming up very soon on consecutive weekends. After Mike and Kevin regained their composure, all three panelists were unanimous in their feeling that we could make an Olympics happen in our community although it would be a huge lift.

Converging events will become more and more the norm moving forward with a new Nicollet Mall on the way, a renewed interest in activating Hennepin Avenue, a reimagined Target Center, along with Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium. But the real opportunity to move the needle is when creative event professionals like Mike, Leah and Kevin help to conceive and executive great activities for our community's residents and visitors.