Connections

Have you ever wondered how NFCYM chooses a particular city for NCYC?

Ideally, it begins with an invitation from a diocese to consider their city as the host. Occasionally, a city’s convention and visitors bureau asks NFCYM to bring NCYC to town. Sometimes, if a city appears to have appropriate facilities, NFCYM asks a diocese to consider hosting. NFCYM never has selected a location where the local diocese is opposed to hosting.

What are “appropriate facilities?”

To adequately handle NCYC, a city needs to have an arena or stadium that can seat approximately 20,000 people within walking distance of a convention center that has a minimum of 500,000 square feet of exhibit space. In addition to these requirements, NFCYM looks for approximately 5,500 quad occupancy hotels rooms within a 20-minute radius of the facilities. These are the minimum requirements. If a city meets these criteria, a site inspection is scheduled to see how these elements are connected.

The site inspection

The site inspection helps NFCYM answer many questions that can not be easily discerned from a written proposal. For instance, what the city may consider to be walking distance may be too far for NFCYM’s tastes. The site inspection team includes a production company representative, the director of youth ministry from the potential host diocese (additional staff or volunteers participate at the discretion of the potential host), and NFCYM’s director of meetings and events.

During the walk-through, we assess things like how well the facility has been maintained, how easy it is to navigate, and the number of food outlets available. We talk with event services personnel at the proposed facilities about technical capabilities. Can they handle our production requirements? Which unions operate in the facilities? What items does the facility have in its inventory? What is the cost to use them? What can we bring in from other vendors? These exchanges help us learn how familiar the staff is with its facility, which often translates into how well they will serve us before and during NCYC.

Decision-making process

Following a site visit, the NFCYM director of meetings and events distills the information from the written proposal and information gathered during the site visit into an overview sheet to help the Youth Events Management Committee (YEMC) makes its recommendation to NFCYM’s board of directors. The YEMC compares objective data like proposed rental fees, available dates, facility capacity, average hotel rates, size and distance of hotel block, average temperatures and precipitation. It also considers subjective information on facility condition, local attractions, and impressions on the advantages and concerns about hosting NCYC in the city.

The YEMC weighs available information and makes its recommendation. The board of directors then decides whether to affirm the recommendation. Once the decision is made, the director of meetings and events notifies the convention and visitors bureaus and diocesan directors of the board’s decision. Final contract negotiations on facilities and hotels begin after that.

The host diocese

NFCYM makes also makes a formal agreement with the host diocese. The letter of agreement is usually signed by the host bishop and the NFCYM executive director. It outlines the responsibilities of both parties, including the terms of the financial support NFCYM provides the host diocese as it prepares.

The host diocese has a menu of options regarding its responsibility. At the very least, NFCYM must rely on the host diocese for volunteer recruitment, screening, and training. Other tasks that host dioceses may take on include official merchandising, bishop hospitality, thematic park planning, local sponsorships, coordination of safety and security, and preparation for prayer and worship (outside of general sessions). The assistance of the host diocese is invaluable. The tasks can be exhausting, but when you speak to directors who have survived hosting NCYC, they will tell you that the blessing to their local ministry outweighs the challenges faced in preparing for the event.

The combination of great facilities and the spirit of a hosting community have a profound and lasting effect on the youth and adults who attend NCYC.