Looking ahead to Eugene 2012
The Eugene 08 Festival was free and open to the public. By Natasha Chughtai and KVAL Web StaffEUGENE, Ore. -- The Olympic trials are coming back to Eugene in 2012, and doing business differently is on the top of the agenda for next time. Chris Hogel, owner of Studio One Cafe, was pretty disappointed with the lack of business he saw during the trials. In week one, the café lost nearly $4,000. "I hired extra," Hogel said. "I hired new cooks, hired extra wait staff and by Monday I laid them all off." A disappointment for a local business, but now it's time to look ahead to when the athletes return in 2012. Hogel has plenty of suggestions. "Come down and enjoy the atmosphere of it," he said. "Open it up a little more." Fans had suggestions, too. "Maybe have some of the booths be more relevant to track and field," said Patrick Herrmann. "The way they are trying to do everything sustainable and economical, keep doing that," said Kaylee Kooiman. "Easier access to water fountains, more water fountains," said Joe Michel. Organizers are also looking toward the future. Planning starts now, even with four years to go. They said this time around, things went pretty well. "There will obviously be some modifications we will do with the fan fest," said Greg Irwin, Eugene 08 co-chair, "things we didn't do. weren't able to accomplish this time around for various reasons." "As far as the general fan festival and the ambiance, if it isn't broken, I don't think we want to fix it," Irwin said. Back at the cafe, business has picked up. Hogel said despite the loss of business, it's been a fun ride having the trials in Eugene and he's looking forward to doing it all again. |
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