Airport bringing in third-party for commercial and industrial development

This news is a little stale, but I needed to get this up.

The Airport Authority decided last week to bring in a third-party developer to manage the development of the 1,400 acres set aside for commercial and industrial uses. Authority members voted for Jones Lang LeSalle over four other companies including Hunt Development Group, St. Joe/Haskell, Taylor & Mathis and TranSystems.

The Jones Lang LeSalle website touts that they are a global company with over 750 locations worldwide, and they manage properties in countries ranging from India to New Zealand and everywhere in between. They will bring their expertise here not only to ensure that the area around the airport is developed correctly, but that it has the best opportunity to be occupied by quality businesses and/or services.

I think this is great as it, again, opens up our area to people and organizations that are outside our market and operate on a much larger scale.

11th Annual Zap Pro/Am Skim Jam Competition at Edgewater Beach Resort

Surf’s up! Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort, a property of The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach, announced they will host the 11th Annual Zap Pro/Am Skim Jam Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19, 2009. Edgewater was the accommodations host for this competition last year, and anticipation for this year’s event has grown so much that Edgewater is already booked to capacity. Because of this, The Resort Collection is offering special rates for Edgewater’s sister property Long Beach Resort.

Located less than a mile away from Edgewater along 1,300 feet of emerald water and sugar-white sand, Long Beach Resort offers luxurious suites, private amenities and breathtaking waterfront views. Guests can enjoy oversized balconies, the tropical Lagoon Pool, two all-weather tennis courts, seasonally heated Polynesian pools and whirlpool spas at a 15% discount, with rates starting at just $110 per night when they book online with the promotional code: SKIM.

“Skim Jam is always an exciting event at Edgewater. We are proud to be the accommodations sponsor for this fun-filled, family-friendly competition,” said Paul Wohlford, vice president of sales and marketing at The Resort Collection.

Skimboarding enthusiasts from near and far are getting ready to put on their gear, wax their boards and prepare for the most thrilling skimboarding competition of the year. Skim Jam has truly made its name in the record books and features the best pro and amateur skimboard talent in the world. This nationally recognized sporting competition, organized by Tony and Lib Johnson of Mr. Surf’s Surf Shop, offers free admission to observers. Net proceeds from contestants’ entry fees go to benefit the Boys & Girls Club at Frank Brown Park and Skim USA.

Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort is offering a weekend full of exciting events, beginning with Global Surf Industries and Surftech’s Surf/ Stand-up Paddleboard Demo and Regatta, plus a chance to meet the pros of skimboarding at pre-check-in on Friday, April 17. The annual Zap Pro/Am Skim Jam Contest will begin on Saturday, April 18 at 8:30 a.m. and will run until 4:00 p.m. A treasure hunt in the sand for kids 11 and under called Panama Jack’s Lil’ Sandiggers Treasure Hunt will be held at 1:00 p.m., along with other fun-filled family activities on the beach. Sunday’s events will begin with Church On The Beach, a non-denominational praise and worship service, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. before the Skim Jam Finals begin at 9:00 a.m. The day will culminate with an awards ceremony for the competition’s winners.

AVP Pro Volleyball Tourney Results and Pictures

After only a single day of play, the tournament ended just before sundown with 4 winners between two teams. Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers took the first title in the AVP Crocs tour in Panama City Beach Sunday. Heavy winds and rain cancelled play on Saturday and resulted in an abbreviated single-elimination tournament that ended around 7 pm. The women’s title was won by Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs.

It was a battle of Beijing Olympians in the men’s final, with gold medalists Dalhausser and Rogers facing off against fellow Team USA members and No. 2 seeds Jake Gibb (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Sean Rosenthal (Corona Del Mar, Calif.). The gold medalists bested the fifth-place finishers 19-21, 21-18, 15-9.

“Jake and Sean played really well the first set and halfway through the second,” said Dalhausser. “Coming back was such a mental boost. We rarely play this many matches in a day, but we’re in pretty good shape as a team.”

Dalhausser and Rogers advanced to Sunday’s final after defeating No. 4 seeds Brad Keenan (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Florida State graduate Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.) 21-12, 21-10. Gibb and Rosenthal reached the final by eliminating No. 6 seeds Matt Olson (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Kevin Wong (Honolulu) to the tune of 21-15, 21-10.

On the women’s side, the top seeds also bested the second-seeds, with Branagh and Youngs toppling Jen Kessy (San Clemente, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) in three games:16-21, 21-18, 15-9.

“Jen and April came out on fire serving,” said Youngs. “But we put the pressure on them with our serving and Nicole played incredible defense. When you play single elimination, you go point by point, balls to the wall, play smart, play aggressive.”

Youngs claimed her 43rd career title, solidifying her spot in the Top 10 career wins on the women’s side. 2008 AVP Crocs Tour Most Improved Player Branagh claimed her 8th.

Branagh and Youngs advanced to the final by defeating No. 4 seeds Angie Akers (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Tyra Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.) 30-28, 21-13. Kessy and Boss took out No, 3 seeds Annett Davis (Valencia, Calif.) and Jenny Johnson Jordan (Wexford, Pa.), 21-19, 19-21, 21-19. Source: avp.com

The weather yesterday was perfect, the crowds mild and the action intense. Being Sunday, I was only there for a bit, but managed to get some great pictures and video (which will be posted later this week).

Check out the pictures uploaded to our Flickr gallery below, and don’t forget to check our Facebook Fan Page for exclusive pictures and video.

Summer Marketing Campaign for Panama City Beach is LOADS Better This Year

As many of you remember, I (along with many of our contributors) was very vocal in the obvious failure of the Summer White Sale campaign that was rolled out last year. Although the idea wasn’t quite right, it was the creative that I was so outraged by. We spent a lot of money for an all around crappy campaign. Now, with that lovely negative intro, this year’s campaign looks MUCH better. The creative is way stronger.

I have some exclusive footage of what some of the animated banner ads may look like posted to my Facebook Fan Page. Check it out. Be sure to become a “fan”.

I’m going to keep this short and let you see some of the advertising ideas.

You may, from time to time, notice I use words like “loads” or “brilliant”. Today’s random fact of the day about Jason Koertge is that I LOVE Harry Potter (actually our whole family does) and I have a secret desire to speak with a British accent. I know, lame, but I don’t care.

Wonderworks Coming to Panama City Beach

“Let your imagination run wild, that’s the wonder of Wonderworks,” or so goes the tune on the Wonderworks web site. Wonderworks, essentially a huge place to play seems to be coming to Panama City Beach. I use the word “seems” because I still have yet to be able to get in contact with someone that has any solid information on this. Perhaps this is where an “investigative reporter” would come in. Currently there is a location in Pigeon Forge, TN and Orlando, FL.

So far, I’ve found full building plans (thanks Aaron!), information for bidders of the project and heard from a dozen or so people that it will be located next to Walgreens at the intersection of Front Beach and Middle Beach Road.

According to some of the information I’ve found, the building will be a 4 story 36,000 square foot space filled with entertainment including exhibits, small rides, video games and more.

As quoted from the Pigeon Forge, TV location’s web site:

When you enter the building, everything will be upside down, so in order to participate in the fun, you must be inverted. Once you’re properly aligned for your adventure, Family Fun awaits with more than 120 interactive, hands-on exhibits. As the Building hurtled skyward it encountered what can only be described as a time portal.

The building from the outside looks as though it has been planted in the ground upside down, apparently the one here will look the same, according to the elevation that I’ve seen. The site next to Walgreens is cleared and ready for development. I’ve heard that the Walsinghams (they own Ripley’s) are the ones behind Wonderworks here, which would make sense as it is the same basic concept as their Ripley’s museum. Of course, it helps that he owns the property also, all .68 acres of it.

In quoting Ignacio, the Luchador: So anywayz – I’ll keep you updated as I find more info, in my strretchy paunts.

Despite Nasty Weather, AVP Show Must Go On

With wind gusts of up to 30 mph and heavy downpoor expected all day, the volleyball pros still plan to play, even though there won’t be many there to watch. I was told by someone that the last event they had attended 18 out of the 25 games they watched were in bad weather.

They play, rain or shine. I was told the qualifiers went well yesterday; the players got wet, and had to fight the wind, but they played. Coming from one direction, the players barely had to tap the ball to serve it over the net, but from the other way, hitting it as hard as they could, the ball sometimes wouldn’t even make it. I guess the advantage of wearing bikinis and boardshorts while you play your pro sport is that getting wet just doesn’t matter.

I was up on the roof of Seahaven, Origin, and felt like my Blackberry was going to be blown out of my hand; my jeans were flapping in the wind, and I don’t wear baggy jeans. My hair was even blowing, and I keep it too short for it to move.

On the ground, flags were flapping in the wind, near the brink of ripping. I overheard one worker screaming “that’s all you got!”, then it started raining – hard. Luckily I was under the covered area of Sharkys. Cameras and rain don’t mix.

Play was postponed until 10 am when I was there. Not sure if they are playing right now (its 1020). It isn’t raining right now, but it is very windy still. Tomorrow, however, is supposed to be nice. We’ll see.

Volleyball Chick Faints, PCB Goes Viral

Wednesday morning, Nikki Allen, Director of Operations for the University of Southern California’s women’s volleyball program was interviewed on WMBB by Wayne Gentry and went down in YouTube fame. As she was being interviewed by Wayne Gentry, she fainted on live tv. WMBB was kind enough to upload it to YouTube and now, three days later the video has over 260,000 views.

Apparently Nikki flew in from California that morning, which must have been very early as the time on screen during the interview was 6:20. I also read that this was her first time on TV and she was very nervous. Whatever the case, I’ve been told that she’s ok now.

The faint happened behind Sharky’s Beach Club on Panama City Beach and was accompanied by Dan Rowe. By the way, does anyone know what the question was that Dan answered Tanzania?

New VisitPanamaCityBeach Web Site Adapts to Each User

The new VisitPanamaCityBeach.com web site is almost ready for launch and is looking awesome, might I add. The user experience will be different for everyone based on Personality Quizzes, and the overall look and feel exudes Real.Fun.Beach.

When the user first arrives at the site, they are greeted by a fun but laid back setting with warm colors that make you long for some quality beach time with the family. Hints of “free vacation giveaways” and “what’s your ‘fun’ sign” are scattered throughout with a front-end goal of making the user experience unique, varied and well, fun. The back-end functionality is all about collecting user information. By answering short simple questions, we’ll be able to get a better idea as to who the people are that not only visit the site, but visit Panama City Beach.

Some of the questions could include:

My favorite beach sensation is:

The gulf breeze blowing through my hair
The warmth of the sun on my skin
The smell of the salt in the air
The feel of the sand in my toes
The invigoration of the water

My favorite beach souvenir would be:

A shell
A beach hat
A piece of jewelry
A tie-dye t-shirt
A beach umbrella

Based on the answers to these and a few more questions the web site will categorize you in one of five Fun Signs:

Soul Searcher – relaxed and laid back
Sandy Bottom Bunch – Family oriented
After Dark Shark – Nightlife party person
Wave Warrior – Outdoorsey and active
Eco-Seeker – Environmentally friendly

Based on what you’ve been categorized as, the web site will totally change – different background images, different accent colors, different text – the whole look and feel resembles what your Fun Sign is.

Also included in the site is a Trip Planner. Based on your Fun Sign, recomendations will be made for activities to do on Panama City Beach, all plotted out in a neat map.

The site should be live by April 1 – I’ll have a more detailed review of it at that point.

Click here to see the demo.

Breaking News! New Double Indoor Flowrider Coming to PCB

Hot off the press – pcbdaily’s press – an indoor double Flowrider is coming to Panama City Beach. Think surfing year-round, think surfing whether the water temperature in the Gulf is tolerable or not, think surfing whether it’s raining or lightning outside, or think surfing if you just don’t feel like paddling out. I’m thinking surfing because I can’t surf for real.

Being a veteran snowboarder remembering the days of the early 1990’s of me and one other guy on the whole mountain learning to snowboard, getting practically run over by skiers hating on the, what they thought, new sport. I always wanted to skate, but frankly, I sucked at it. I read all the magazines, wore the cool clothes, listened to the music, liked riding my board, but I couldn’t do any tricks for the life of me. Or maybe I just wasn’t dedicated. Snowboarding was everything I wanted – a board that was attached to my feet and a padded landing (sometimes). I rode passionately every chance I got for 10 years (growing up is Dallas offered me this opportunity twice a year at best).

Fast forward to moving to Panama City Beach in 2001. “Surfing is just like snowboarding,” a friend told me, “you’ll love it.” Well, it isn’t, and I don’t. It always seemed like too much work for not enough playtime. I was spoiled with the sometimes seemingly endless downhill bouts riding fresh powder. I gave it another chance when my wife, who is an avid surfer, convinced me. Same results. I did however find a new comprimise to my longing for the snow – wakeboarding. Yet, I’ve only been once. That day will always linger in my head when I got “up” after the third try and rode for hours. Everything about the control of the board was familiar – I loved it. Too bad that was almost three summers ago, and I haven’t gone since.

Fast forward again, to today. A new double Flowrider is coming to Panama City Beach, and it will be indoor. Talking to Jeremy, who’s working on the development and operational side of this new attraction, he said, “the best way I can describe it is a jet engine shooting water up a ramp so fast you can surf it.” The title on the main page of the Flowrider website describes it as “sheetwave attractions.” They vary in size and even in wave dynamics, but they all provide healthy doses of fun. If you’ve ever been on a Royal Caribbean’s cruise, chances are you’ve run into one.

Driving down Middle Beach Road, right across from Wal-Mart and where Tony Roma’s used to be, you’ve probably seen a video sign that says Shubee Flowrider. That’s it. Right there in Miracle Strip Loop will be where all the indoor surfing action can be found starting sometime early summer. “If everything works out right, we’ll be open sometime in June,” said Jeremy.

Prices haven’t been set yet, but they are estimating the cost to be around $20 per session. Each session could last for up to 1 hour. Inside, there will be observation areasall around the attraction, two party rooms and a retail area including gear and apparell.

Welcome to Panama City Beach, Jeremy!

Survey Says Affordability Increasing U.S. Residents' Intent to Travel

According to the most recent results of the travelhorizons quarterly survey, the U.S. Traveler Sentiment Index rose to 90.2 in February 2009 from 78.2 in October 2008 due to an increase in the perceived “affordability of travel.” The survey, which was conducted from Feb. 7 to 13, polled a representative survey of 2,270 adults, from which the Index is calculated.

The spike in the perceived affordability appears to be a direct result of the promotional pricing and related incentives now being offered by tour suppliers who represent practically every segment of the travel industry. Many airlines, cruise lines, hotel companies, attractions and rental car companies are featuring rates and fares that are up to 50 percent off the prices being quoted just six months ago.

“We are very encouraged that more people are signaling a willingness to travel for leisure purposes,” said Peter C. Yesawich, chairman of Ypartnership, which co-authors travelhorizons with the U.S. Travel Association. “This is the first increase we have observed in the Index since January 2008, which indicates that the discounts travel providers and destinations are offering are working to attract more travelers, even in this down economy.” Source: National Tour Association

As I travel around the southeast promoting our destination at consumer trade shows, speaking to thousands of people, one thing is clear. Families are still traveling for vacations and get-a-ways. We are fortunate to be a drive destination and have the first ever international green airport under construction. If our spring season is any indication of what the summer is going to bring, I predict a good year for visitors and businesses.

I will be traveling to Nashville, TN next week to the Southern Women’s Show. Over 34,000 ladies will attend the four day event. I look forward to promoting our destination, accommodations and fun things to do while staying on “The World’s Most Beautiful Beaches”. I will give an update on my trip home.

Debi Knight, President
Panama City Beach Tourism Services
http://www.travelpcb.com