‘The devil’s in the details’

The Archery Shooters Association Classic is back in Cullman — and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

With the original three-year contract between the ASA and the Cullman City Parks and Recreation Department set to expire at the end of this year’s tournament Sunday, ASA owner Mike Tyrell made it clear Thursday he wants to keep his pro-am operation’s season-ending tourney at St. Bernard for the foreseeable future.

Based on recent conversations with representatives from the host site, the city and local hotels, Tyrell said he plans to return in about four weeks, splash some ink on another multi-year contract and announce a date for the 2015 ASA Classic.

Though no deals have been set in stone — “it’s all but” — he said the new agreement would be for a minimum of three years.

“The devil’s in the details,” Tyrell said.

The biggest detail that still poses a potential problem revolves around lodging.

Early on during the 2013 tourney, Tyrell was bombarded by complaints that hotels weren’t honoring reservation prices or cancelling some reservations altogether. This year, Tyrell said the situation has actually worsened, though he’s now shouldering an equal share of the blame.

Tyrell said “hotels do what hotels do” but admitted he could do a better job of communicating with them. At this point, all local hotels know are the dates of the Classic, hence why prime rates are more common once bookings start to pile up. In the future, though, he’d like there to be more of a guaranteed price for the thousand-plus archers and their families who make Cullman their home one weekend out of every year.

“It’s not a reflection of their business acumen or ethics,” Tyrell said of the hotels, of which 11 are listed on the ASA site for prospective attendees. “It’s a reflection on us all not coming together and creating a positive environment for all of us, and I think I’ve worked that out.”

Tyrell specifically pointed to St. Bernard board member Chris Rooney, Cullman Chamber of Commerce president Leah Bolin and tourism director Cecilia Smith as instrumental pieces in solving the lodging puzzle.

“They’ve all been very helpful and very forthcoming,” he said. “We’re very anxious to get this done and done in writing so that everybody’s on board and understands. Then I think we’ll be in good shape.”

A contract renewal would be an obvious coup for Cullman. With thousands of folks spending money at the city’s and surrounding area’s hotels, restaurants and other businesses, the tournament’s estimated economical impact is anywhere between $2-4 million.

“I was ready to come back, but I told them it’s obvious there’s a disconnect and we’ve got to figure that out,” Tyrell said. “They’re in business, and I’m in business. Let’s compare notes and see what’s a win-win, and we were able to do that.”

An official at Holiday Inn Express did not wish to comment. Attempts to reach other local hotel managers were unsuccessful.

Aside from business, Tyrell was happy to be back in Cullman for a third installment of his organization’s annual finale. Per usual, he lauded the city as a whole and expressed special gratitude for the good work done by the Parks and Rec Department and St. Bernard to ensure the show runs smoothly from start to finish.

Parks and Rec marketing and programs director Waid Harbison said there’s likely to be 1,600 archers in town for the weekend, a bump of 400 participants compared to each of the last two years. According to Tyrell, that marks the ASA’s fourth stop — it only makes seven per season — to set an attendance record in 2014.

“Would’ve been five except they had a tornado warning in Texas and people stayed home,” he quipped. “I don’t know why.”

Tyrell unleashed another one-liner concerning the relatively cool temperatures and overcast skies that greeted archers who trickled in on Thursday. It was a stark contrast to the 2013 experience, which required extra water stations to combat the extreme heat and humidity.

“I’m just glad you guys finally figured this weather thing out for us,” Tyrell joked. “I was getting concerned, but you figured it out and it’s wonderful.”

Back to the business side of the sport, Tyrell said the ASA has been pleased by the development of a couple classes its been cultivating.

One is a program called Scholastic 3-D Archery that was started with an organization out of Kentucky. The partners pretty much mirror each other’s rules for kids and have seen a boost in youth participation because of it.

The other is an affiliation with United States College Archery, which is an intramural program of sorts. Auburn University at Montgomery is expected to send a team to the Classic, and several college coaches have shown up at ASA events to scout the tour’s talent pool.

“It’s been a lot of fun to see that, and that’s really the growth part of the business,” Tyrell said. “It’s one thing to see a bunch of 60-year-old guys, like me, but it’s another to see a bunch of families and kids and juniors start to shoot and participate.

“Right now, over 25 percent of all of our competitors are either women or kids under 18, which is huge. It’s just a testament to the fact it’s a fun sport and people enjoy doing it.”

What many people enjoy doing at St. Bernard is running on the private school’s expansive trails. Despite such extensive use for a four-day period every year, the area is hardly ever any worse for wear, a fact Tyrell is proud to tout.

For this year’s Classic, he spared the expense and trouble to build movable wooden steps to make it easier for archers to get from the trail to lanes on higher ground. In 2013, he’d tried to curb the problem by putting out concrete blocks, which damaged the terrain when it rained.

Those concrete blocks were tempting for Tyrell to just walk away from. But the wooden steps? Not so much considering they cost $500 to construct.

“I’m not walking away from that,” he said. “And I also wouldn’t have spent $500 bucks if I knew I wasn’t coming back.”

I was ready to come back, but I told them it’s obvious there’s a disconnect and we’ve got to figure that out. They’re in business, and I’m in business. Let’s compare notes and see what’s a win-win, and we were able to do that.