Fox Cities CVB Receives Destinations Wisconsin Trailblazer Award for the Community First Champion Center

The Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (FCCVB) has been awarded the 2020 Destinations Wisconsin Trailblazer Award in Outstanding Partnership – Destination Development for its leadership in the development of the Community First Champion Center (CFCC).

Destinations Wisconsin Tourism Trailblazer awards recognize Wisconsin tourism organizations for outstanding marketing and partnership initiatives in an effort to increase the visibility of Wisconsin's tourism industry and destination marketing organizations.

The CFCC, which opened in November 2019 in Grand Chute, is a 164,000-square-foot indoor sports complex with both ice and hard-court surfaces. It features a year-round NHL-size ice rink, a fieldhouse with four basketball courts or eight volleyball courts and a seasonal arena that can be a second NHL-size ice rink or four basketball or four volleyball courts. The complex has hosted basketball, volleyball, futsal, handball, hockey, figure skating, gymnastic, wrestling, and other sporting events since its opening.

Ten municipalities – the Town of Grand Chute, City of Appleton, Village of Fox Crossing, City of Kaukauna, Village of Kimberly, Village of Little Chute, City of Menasha, City of Neenah, Town of Neenah and Village of Sherwood – led the funding of the project with local room tax and the Town of Grand Chute donated the land. The CVB then convened task forces focusing on project construction and operations and formed the non-profit Fox Cities Sports Development, which acts as the administrator of the facility and contracts with Sports Facilities Management (SFM) for the day-to-day operations of the facility. Community First Credit Union stepped up as the naming rights sponsor of the complex.

The facility helps drive additional winter sports tournaments, events and travel to the Fox Cities, as well as complement other area facilities for increased year-round sporting events and related tourism. The complex is projected to bring millions of dollars in additional visitor spending into the Fox Cities every year. Local teams, groups and clubs also practice and play at the facility, complementing other local venues to help fulfill previously unmet local needs. The CFCC has been recognized as one of the best new sports facilities in the country.

Fox Cities Sports Development, Inc. administers the operations of the CFCC for the facility’s owner, the Town of Grand Chute, and Fox Cities Sports Development, Inc. contracts with Sports Facilities Management (SFM) for the day-to-day operations of the facility.

The FCCVB is a member of Destinations Wisconsin (formerly the Wisconsin Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus,) which is a statewide, membership-based industry advocacy, education and marketing organization for Wisconsin destination marketing and management organizations.