City of Columbia, Missouri  
Meeting Minutes  
Columbia Sports Commission  
300 S. Providence  
Thursday, November 14, 2024  
12:00 PM  
Road - Walton Building  
I. CALL TO ORDER  
The meeting was called to order at 12:04 pm.  
II. ROLL CALL  
8 -  
Present:  
James Arnold, Jared Klarfeld, David Egan, Kristopher Kunz, Ethan Cobb, Beau  
Baehman, Elizabeth Kelly and Stephanie Priesmeyer  
4 - Julie Calfee, Carter Marcks, Susan Hart and Gabe Huffington  
Excused:  
2 - Amy Schneider and Richard Walls  
Non-Voting:  
Joey Wilmes was present as a representative from Columbia Parks and Recreation.  
Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) staff members Julie Ausmus and Trevor Bradley  
were also present.  
III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA  
Baehman motioned to approve the agenda, Kunz seconded. All in favor. Agenda approved  
as is.  
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES  
Attachments: September Meeting Minutes  
Egan motioned to approve the September Meeting Minutes, Kelly seconded. All in favor.  
Minutes approved as is.  
V. OLD BUSINESS  
Updates to the Sports Development Fund (SDF) Application  
Bradley shared copies of the updated Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025) Sports Development  
Fund (SDF) Application. Ausmus noted that Post Event Summary Reports would now be  
due within 45 days of the completion of the event, compared to the previous 90 day  
window. Bradley also noted the added question (7), which addresses security and staffing  
of the event, a concern that has been noted at previous meetings.  
VI. NEW BUSINESS  
November Sports Commission Report  
Attachments: Sports Commission Report - November  
The events in the attached September Sports Commission Report were discussed.  
Past events included the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association’s Coaches Clinic,  
Columbia Public Schools’ Boys COMO Swim & Dive Invitational, and the Missouri State  
High School Activities Association's (MSHSAA) Cross Country State Championships.  
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Cross Country National  
Championships were mentioned as an upcoming event.  
Booked business included the Missouri Travel Alliance’s 2026 Missouri Sports Travel  
Exchange and the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) 2027 Cross Country  
Regional Championships. It was also noted that the recently booked NXTPRO Hoops  
event would be going before the City Council for approval of funding later this month.  
Lost business included the USA Club Rugby 2025 Northern Super Regional and the  
NCAA’s 2027 Men’s and 2028 Women’s Golf Regional Championships. Bradley shared a  
list of midwest sites that were awarded NCAA Golf Regional Championships in 2027 and  
2028.  
Middle School Basketball SDF Application  
Attachments: Application - Middle School Basketball  
Sales staff shared the attached Middle School Basketball Championships SDF  
Application and the attached 2024 Post Event Summary Report with the Sports  
Commission.  
Ausmus noted that the event has been hosted the past three years. The event was  
funded at $15,000 in 2020, but the 2020 event was canceled due to Covid-19 and that  
money was applied to the 2022 event. The event was funded at $7,500 in both 2023 and  
2024. The tournament has witnessed consistent growth in participation, room nights, and  
attendance, and in 2025 will be split into two weekends. Girls will compete March 7-9,  
and boys will compete March 21-23. The event will utilize courts at the Columbia Sports  
Fieldhouse, Mizzou Rec, Columbia Public Schools, and the Boys and Girls Club of  
Columbia.  
Baehman motioned to recommend funding the event at a level of $12,500. Egan  
seconded. All in favor. Motion approved.  
VII. STAFF REPORTS  
Sports Sales Activities  
Ausmus shared that MSHSAA released the RFP for its 2025-2030 Baseball State  
Championships. Facility availability on the requested dates prevented staff from putting  
together a competitive proposal.  
Tourism Sales Manager Adam Ziervogel attended TEAMS Conference from September  
24-26 in Anaheim, California. Ziervogel attended with the Show-Me Missouri Sports Group  
and had several successful appointments with organizers.  
Bradley and Ziervogel attended a World Cup Regional CVBs Meeting on October 2, in  
preparation for the 2026 World Cup matches in Kansas City. During their trip to Kansas  
City, they completed sales calls with 1 Movement Hoops, Heart of America Volleyball,  
and Top Gun Events. 1 Movement Hoops has a site visit at the Columbia Sports  
Fieldhouse scheduled Thanksgiving week and has tentatively scheduled an event for June  
27-29, 2025.  
Sales staff is attending planning meetings with University of Missouri Athletics and  
Columbia Parks and Recreation for the NCAA’s 2025 Cross Country National  
Championships. University of Missouri Athletics is working with the Southeastern  
Conference to ensure the University of Missouri plays a road football game on November  
22. Ziervogel is attending a site visit in Madison, Wisconsin for the 2024 NCAA Cross  
Country National Championships with University of Missouri Athletics event staff to  
prepare for the 2025 event.  
Schneider shared that Ziervogel is currently attending a site visit in Bentonville, Arkansas  
with Columbia Parks and Recreation staff to see USA Cycling’s 2024 Collegiate Mountain  
Bike National Championships. Parks and Recreation is planning to build a cyclocross  
course at Gans Creek Recreation Area. The site visit will provide insight into events that  
can be hosted at the course.  
FY2024 Sports Sponsorship Recap  
A report on all sports events that received Tourism Development Funding in Fiscal Year  
2024 was shared with the Sports Commission. The report included both Community  
Sponsorship and Sports Development Fund events.  
VIII. GENERAL COMMENTS BY PUBLIC, MEMBERS AND STAFF  
Ausmus requested that the Sports Commission RSVP to the CVB’s Holiday Social on  
December 11 at the Courtyard by Marriott Columbia.  
IX. NEXT MEETING DATE  
There will not be a meeting in December due to the CVB Holiday Social. The next  
meeting is scheduled for January 9, 2025.  
X. ADJOURNMENT  
Kunz made a motion to adjourn, Cobb seconded. All voted in favor of adjourning at 12:48  
pm.  
Members of the public may attend any open meeting. For requests for accommodations related to  
disability, please call 573-874-CITY (573-874-2489) or email CITY@CoMo.gov. In order to assist staff in  
making the appropriate arrangements for your accommodation, please make your request as far in  
advance of the posted meeting date as possible.  
USB DRIVES PROHIBITED: Due to cybersecurity concerns, flash drives and other media devices  
are no longer permitted for delivering files or presentation materials. A speaker who desires to  
display a presentation must upload the presentation, in advance, to the city network using an  
upload portal. To upload your files and learn more, visit CoMo.gov/upload. (Effective Jan. 1,  
2023)