Print edition: 
Wichita officials said Sunday the city won the right to host a national Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships by offering a central location with plenty of lodging and restaurants — and promising to throw a barbecue.
The six-day event at Wichita State University's Cessna Stadium is expected to pump at least $17 million into the economy, said Bob Hanson, president and CEO of the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.
Hanson said a parking lot will be covered with turf for the athletes' use, and a fence will need to be installed along 21st Street. The Junior Olympics will also have an Olympic Village and cafeteria for the athletes.
The event is scheduled for July 26-31, 2011.
Mayor Carl Brewer, City Council member Lavonta Williams, and representatives from the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission, Go Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau, the USA Track and Field Missouri Valley Association and Wichita State went to Indianapolis to present the city's bid on Friday.
The city was competing with Houston and Des Moines. Wichita officials had been working on the bid for the past 10 months.
At stake was a chance to bring 7,500 athletes as well as their coaches and families from across the nation to Wichita.
"The end result is that we were selected," Brewer said Sunday during a press conference. "Not only are we preparing those young athletes for the future, but I had individuals calling me from other cities last night who were talking about the economic impact this is going to have, not only to this community but regionally."
The competition promises to be one of the largest sporting events ever held in Wichita, said John Rolfe, president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The 2009 meet was held in Greensboro, N.C. The 2010 meet will be in Sacramento.
Hanson said Wichita met all the facility and hotel requirements in its bid package, promising 8,000 rooms and more than 1,000 available restaurants.
"We won by an overwhelming majority," Hanson said. "They told us they had never seen a presentation like this."
What helped Wichita, Hanson said, is its central location in the United States.
"We tried to sell the fact we are accessible by air, highways and train," he said.
In making the 15-minute presentation, the Wichita contingent took Coleman coolers to present to the delegates and Brewer promised to host a barbecue at Cowtown.
"I made some phone calls to the Sedgwick County Barbecue Society ... and all these chefs have agreed to come to Cowtown and prepare a meal," Brewer said. "And we'll have live entertainment. It's amazing how food can influence people."
"It sealed the deal," Williams said.
