I'm a pro footbag player always looking for other players... Any shredders on this forum? (if so, check out www.philly-footworks.com)

Also, I'm looking for a venue for my annual winter-time footbag event. It needs to be indoors with great traction (an indoor tennis court would be ideal) and great lighting. And it needs to be donated or greatly discounted. I understand that this is a tall order, but I can provide references, free advertising/media exposure, and a free demo show for the host venue.. Any ideas/offers?

Thanks!

I would suggest looking at your local YMCAs first. Maybe even a church that has a large gym.

Any other recommendations of potential sites?

First, just a little about me/my organization..
1) I've been promoting and playing footbag freestyle for over 7 years now.
2) Our team is the most established and active team on the entire "east coast".
3) We've been featured at the X-Games, in Sports Illustrated, on ESPN....

In other words, we ain't hacky slackers... We're pro athletes. Check the website (www.philly-footworks.com).. Watch the videos.. It's pretty cool stuff.

Now... about venues..
YMCA's:
1) I love the Y's outside of Philly - they've long been one of my best supporters (Pheonixvill Y in particular.. although Collegeville is great too).
2) Inside Philly they asked for $1000 (yes, one thousand) per day (per day?!?!?!) in addition to us giving free demos and classes etc. I couldn't believe it. Although this may have been the "brush off" response to get me off the phone (their thought perhaps being "who cares about these darned hacky sackers")
3) Even if we get a Y to donate, I'd probably not take it.. Their gym floors are too slippery for the sport that we play. We need good grip (like tennis court, rubber indoor track, low pile carpet etc.)

Other venues..
1) Reliability of venues is the biggest issue. Last year we had a verbal agreement with the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis center on Main St. in Manayunk... They bailed on us 2 weeks before the event (which left me scrambling). They said "The board doesn't think that this event will set a good precedent and we fear having to loan the venue out to anyone that asks". 2 weeks before 70 players from as far away as CA show up is a big problem...
2) In general it's really hard to find a venue that has the amount of space we need, is equipped with the aforementioned types of flooring surfaces, is well lit, and will not charge me (who does this as a service to the players and loses money doing it) an arm and a leg.

Sorry for the long drawn out.. Just wanted to give a better picture of who we are, and what our needs/problems are..

Thanks! Any advice is much appreciated.. We get great media exposure everywhere we tour, so we might be able to help you out in return..

How did you find us?

__________________
* Name: Jennifer Kronstain
* Status on PhillyBlog.com: Co-Founder
* Job: Principal / Founder, KMG Worldwide Public Relations (http://www.kronstainmediagroup.com)
* Connect with Jennifer / KMG. Here's how: http://www.jenniferkronstain.com/contact.htm

I forget honestly.. I think I did a google search to find if there was an online community for Philly. Why do you ask?

Just for anecdotal purposes ... as we develop the board, we like to know how people find us. ... Thanks!

JK

__________________
* Name: Jennifer Kronstain
* Status on PhillyBlog.com: Co-Founder
* Job: Principal / Founder, KMG Worldwide Public Relations (http://www.kronstainmediagroup.com)
* Connect with Jennifer / KMG. Here's how: http://www.jenniferkronstain.com/contact.htm

Well, we got a great venue afterall.. We'll be hosted by Levy Tennis Pavilion on the UPENN campus.. Thanks Levy!!!!

Glad to hear that Rob. Be sure to give us all of the details of who/what/ and when!

No problem..
Although I will say this.. This event is mostly a "for the players, by the players" event.. Whereas events that I hold during the warmer months are more spectator-centric.. I'm sure Levy won't mind some spectators, but I can't invite the world like I normally would..

But, please feel free to check out all the details at:
www.philly-footworks.com