Farmers Branch kicks off countdown to 2011 Super Bowl; encourages local businesses
August 13, 2009
FARMERS BRANCH ~ The Farmers Branch Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Farmers Branch Chamber of Commerce kicked off the countdown to Super Bown XLV at a breakfast held recently to discuss the impact of the 2011 event in Arlington on the Farmers Branch community and business owners.
Super Bowl XLV is set for Cowboys Stadium in Arlington in 2011. This special breakfast event featured guest speaker Bill Lively, CEO of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee.
Minority- and women-owned businesses hoping to bid on Super Bowl XLV-related opportunities via the NFL Emerging Business Program in North Texas are now provided an online road map with the launch of www.northtexassuperbowl.com/emergingbusiness.
“The Host Committee’s number one goal is to ensure that everyone in the North Texas business community knows about the Emerging Business Program,” said Robbie Douglas, the Host Committee’s Director of Business Development. “We can’t promise anyone a contract, but we can work to ensure that information saturates North Texas and every North Texas business understands how to participate. Going to this site is the best first step for anyone wanting to learn more about this program.”
On the site, entrepreneurs can access:
· Background information on the history of the Emerging Business Program
· A secure portal to register your minority- or woman-owned business for possible inclusion in the Emerging Business database called the Business Resource Guide (BRG)
· Tips and links on getting certified
· Links to the Super Bowl XLV BRG
· Information on upcoming workshops
· Feature stories on Emerging Business success stories
The NFL Emerging Business Program is designed to provide local minority- and woman-owned businesses the maximum opportunity to participate in the Super Bowl procurement process. While participation in the program does not guarantee receipt of Super Bowl XLV-related contracts, it is the intention of the NFL and North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee that interested minority- and woman-owned businesses receive information on the Super Bowl procurement process and an introduction to potential purchasing entities. Last year’s Super Bowl in the Tampa Bay area, 130 minority- and women-owned businesses were awarded roughly $4 million. The major qualification is that the business be owned at least 51 percent by a U.S. citizen who is a woman and/or a minority. “For an event of the Super Bowl’s magnitude, it just made sense to create a program of this kind, especially once you recognize all that the Super Bowl touches — so many people and so many walks of life,” said Tisha Ford, the NFL’s Manager, Events Business Development. “We are hands on in terms of explaining all the stages of procurement — funding, insurance, all the various different components that may come into play. It’s an exciting process.
“We want these businesses, no matter how small they think they are, to know they can take this experience beyond that Super Bowl game,” Ford added. “They can be a viable participant in other big events that may come to the North Texas area after the Super Bowl is gone.”