Merlo's On The Move Stay Tuned

This is Dave, one of Merlo's undercover operatives. According to Dave, Merlo has headed out to find a computer. Sometime within the next 48 hours Merlo is going to release new information he thinks shooters will really be interested in. Tried to get a handle on the info from Dave but he just said it was way over his head, too many numbers and things that gave him a headache when he tried to look at it.

 

Must be big information!

 

Grand American Trapshooting Tournament to continue in Sparta, IL
Posted: Jan 11, 2016 1:27 PMUpdated: Jan 15, 2016 3:40 PM
Written by Christy Hendricks
CONNECT

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(Source: Giacomo Luca/KFVS)(Source: Giacomo Luca/KFVS)

• RELATED LINKS
  
• IL Representative urges governor to reopen Sparta shooting complex
  
  
• Sparta's World Shooting Complex to close Oct. 1
  
  
• 'Grand American' could leave Sparta if World Shooting Complex closes
  
  
• Petition launched to keep Sparta, IL shooting complex open
  
  
• Trapshooting championships come to Sparta, Illinois
  
  
  

SPARTA, IL (KFVS) -
One of the largest shooting events in the world is staying in the Heartland.

State Rep. Jerry Costello II, D-Smithton, joined Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) Executive Director Lynn Gipson to announce that the Grand American World Trapshooting Championship would stay in Sparta, Illinois.

A formal announcement was made Friday, Jan. 15 at 3 p.m., according to Lynn Gipson, executive director of the Amateur Trapshooting Association.

“While my ultimate goal continues to be the permanent reopening of the World Shooting and Recreational Complex, the economic impact that the AIM and Grand American have on the region is unparalleled, and ensuring that they stay will provide stability to participants, vendors and businesses that rely on the money these events bring to Southern Illinois,” Costello said.

“These are the largest events held at the complex during any given year in terms of economic impact on Southern Illinois, which makes it all the more important that these events are staying in Sparta.”

All types of target shooting were suspended at the Complex back on Sep. 30. The restaurant, event center and year round vendors have remained open, but due to the Illinois budget issue, shooting was suspended.

The 1,600 acres World Shooting Complex closed on Oct. 1, 2015because the state had not appropriated funds to it.

The 2016 Grand American will be Aug. 3-13 at the complex.

If the complex would have remained closed, local businesses would be at a financial loss due to over 10,000 people attending the event in an alternate location. A 2013 study estimated that the annual economic impact of the Grand American alone was $10-$12 million to the area.

"This place supports Sparta big. You can drive through Sparta and see the difference it makes from the revenue this place generates," sportsman Bob Franey said.

Under the agreement, if there is still no Illinois budget by April 2016, the ATA and IDNR will work out an arrangement for the ATA to lease the World Shooting and Recreational Complex (WSRC) from the state for the months of June, July and August in 2016, which will allow shooting lanes to be open for the AIM youth program Grand Championship and the Grand American World Trapshooting Championship.

Franey says he hopes the announcement that the Grand American will return also means the rec area will return to normal operation.

"I hope they'll open it back up," Franey said.

Adding in other events throughout the year would likely double this impact, so in the nine years of the WSRC’s existence, the estimated impact has totaled over $180 million.

The Grand American draws more than 16,000 people to Sparta including more than 4,600 competitors each year.

The tournament has been held every year for the past 115 years. The competition moved from Vendalia, Ohio to Sparta in 2001.

The Grand American brings in an estimated $12 million per year.

 

SPARTA, IL (KFVS) -

One of the largest shooting events in the world is staying in the Heartland.

State Rep. Jerry Costello II, D-Smithton, joined Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) Executive Director Lynn Gipson to announce that the Grand American World Trapshooting Championship would stay in Sparta, Illinois.

A formal announcement was made Friday, Jan. 15 at 3 p.m., according to Lynn Gipson, executive director of the Amateur Trapshooting Association.

“While my ultimate goal continues to be the permanent reopening of the World Shooting and Recreational Complex, the economic impact that the AIM and Grand American have on the region is unparalleled, and ensuring that they stay will provide stability to participants, vendors and businesses that rely on the money these events bring to Southern Illinois,” Costello said.

“These are the largest events held at the complex during any given year in terms of economic impact on Southern Illinois, which makes it all the more important that these events are staying in Sparta.”

All types of target shooting were suspended at the Complex back on Sep. 30. The restaurant, event center and year round vendors have remained open, but due to the Illinois budget issue, shooting was suspended.

The 1,600 acres World Shooting Complex closed on Oct. 1, 2015 because the state had not appropriated funds to it.

The 2016 Grand American will be Aug. 3-13 at the complex.

If the complex would have remained closed, local businesses would be at a financial loss due to over 10,000 people attending the event in an alternate location. A 2013 study estimated that the annual economic impact of the Grand American alone was $10-$12 million to the area.

"This place supports Sparta big. You can drive through Sparta and see the difference it makes from the revenue this place generates," sportsman Bob Franey said.

Under the agreement, if there is still no Illinois budget by April 2016, the ATA and IDNR will work out an arrangement for the ATA to lease the World Shooting and Recreational Complex (WSRC) from the state for the months of June, July and August in 2016, which will allow shooting lanes to be open for the AIM youth program Grand Championship and the Grand American World Trapshooting Championship.

Franey says he hopes the announcement that the Grand American will return also means the rec area will return to normal operation.

"I hope they'll open it back up," Franey said.

Adding in other events throughout the year would likely double this impact, so in the nine years of the WSRC’s existence, the estimated impact has totaled over $180 million.

The Grand American draws more than 16,000 people to Sparta including more than 4,600 competitors each year.

The tournament has been held every year for the past 115 years. The competition moved from Vendalia, Ohio to Sparta in 2001.

The Grand American brings in an estimated $12 million per year.

VIDEO REPORT

Grand American Trapshooting Tournament to continue in Sparta, IL

 

There you have it kids, all the news, all the time ... Back to a "tentative" agreement but they have reduced the amount the ATA claimed to generate from 10/ 20 million to 12 million , which is still questionable at best ... Keep Dialing back the numbers and sooner or later they will get close ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

I saw this Guy at the Donald Trump Rally

 

The Amateur Trapshooting Association has been through turmoil since last fall, and the fallout is being felt in Western Pennsylvania. After six months of intensive negotiations with Illinois officials, the association said it once again will hold its annual Grand American World Trapshooting Championships in August in Sparta, Ill.

The Illinois General Assembly and governor have been fighting over budget matters, and reportedly the governor threatened to throw the Grand American out of the state because of a deficit from the shooting event.

The matter seems to be resolved — for now. Neither side will release details of the agreement. The ATA wants to stay in Sparta because of the facilities. It says it cannot find an existing alternative large enough, and constructing such a site would be cost prohibitive. Considering Illinois is not known as a pro-gun state, when dollars are thrown into the discussion for 2017, the ATA might have to look elsewhere.

Ed Schroth, a longtime trap shooter from Bethel Park, had word from a former Pittsburgh native, now a gun dealer outside of Dallas, that the Illinois governor once informed ATA officials that the Grand would not be held. Negotiations continued, however, and the state's Department of Natural Resources recently announced continuation of the nation's largest and longest-running trap shoot.

Don't think a championship shoot as far away as Illinois doesn't have a lot to do with trapshooting in Western Pennsylvania. Though the Grand is not as populated by Western Pennsylvania shooters as it used to be, it remains of high interest.

Schroth, who is well known in regional shooting circles, has pointed to the Grand's move to Illinois in 2006 as a reason for the decline in trap shooting here. Until then, he says the Grand's home in Vandalia, Ohio, dating to 1924, was blissful for Western Pennsylvania shooters.

Usually five to six members of most area clubs would go to the Grand in Vandalia, outside of Dayton. One year, Schroth says, 33,858 entrees were registered during an 11-day schedule. The trap line stretched for a mile and a half. You'd have to witness it to realize the impact of so many bangs and puffs of smoke. Farm tractors had to be employed to transport shooters to the traps.

With the championship that nearby, area shooters participated regularly to qualify for it. That helped populate local clubs because shooters paid to participate in a minimum number of registered ATA events to qualify for the national. Interest was at a level that kept local clubs alive.

Schroth remembers one year when Bill Petras, a Western Pennsylvania shooter who is vice president of Ruffs Dale Gun Club, was the only one of nearly 4,000 shooters to break all 100 birds in that round. Federal Firearms donated 10 full flats of shells for him to continue to compete.

But the Vandalia situation ran into trouble after a while. Its trap field was adjacent to an airfield, and the lease on the land expired. The airfield needed room. The ATA lost and relocated to Sparta. Because the shoot was farther away, hotter and less appealing to the locals, it caused a gradual decline in numbers in Western Pennsylvania.

Area trap shooters, however, have had an alternative since 2006: the Cardinal Classic Championship at the Cardinal Center in Marengo, Ohio, near Columbus.

Schroth likes the Cardinal shoot because of its proximity to Pittsburgh and to its many amenities, such as hotels, restaurants and entertainment. The Cardinal also is held in August, but Schroth says the heat in Marengo isn't anything like that in Sparta. He recalls one time when shooters in Sparta escaped to their air-conditioned cars between shoots because it was 114 degrees, he said, causing the trap pads and asphalt to burn their feet.

The Grand dates to 1893 and has a history too interesting to address in this space. The Cardinal Center offers a great alternative, although both shoots are being marketed more to the recreational vehicle crowd, driving up costs.

While quite a few trap and skeet shooting clubs remain active, it is no secret part of the decline in shooting can be attributed to several societal changes.

Costs are high, enough that some compare shooting expenses unfavorably to golf expenses. It wasn't always that way, but now guns, shells and reload components are more expensive. The cost of registered shoots can go to $30 or higher, depending on the classes. Gasoline is not as big a factor, but it was for years and may be again for shooters traveling from one club to another during league shoots.

Probably one of the biggest changes is within families. Moms and pops have been devoting more time, travel and money than in decades past to their children competing in football, baseball, hockey, softball and other activities.

Perhaps another reason is the political climate, in which guns are not as supported as before.

Given all that, who knows if and when the sound of the bang, smell of the powder and smash of the bird will again restore the ache for shooting competition.

 

Merlo posted the charitable org report. 53 pages.