CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — City Council will vote Tuesday on a plan for an outdoor event next month involving local singer Roger Creager.
The inaugural 2019 Coastal Bender has been proposed. It is a homegrown event created and developed by SMG.
Creager's Coastal Bender is a fishing tournament that includes other elements to maximize interest in and attendance of the event.
The four-day event will include an array of content true to the Texas Gulf Coast including a welcome dinner and silent auction for tournament participants on Thursday, Aug, 1, two youth fishing tournaments on Friday, Aug. 2, an all-day fishing tournament on Saturday, Aug. 3 with five divisions (Bay, Kayak Bay, Offshore, Offshore Kayak and Beach/Surf), and a closing brunch and winners award ceremony for tournament participants on Sunday, Aug. 4. Other festival activities include a barbecue cookoff, outdoor expo (boats, fishing and hunting), and a concert.
The first reading of the proposal will take place tomorrow with the second reading scheduled for next week.
SMG is working in partnership with Corpus Christi native Roger Creager, a well-known musician who is playing a key role in attracting artists, anglers, and fans to attend the event. The event name is being branded as ‘Roger Creager’s Coastal Bender.’
The event will take place on Shoreline Boulevard, including the barge dock, outside the American Bank Center as well as inside the arena. Activities listed for Thursday, August 1, 2019 on the Event Plan are for tournament registrants and are not open to the general public.
A general admission fee in the amount of $5 will be charged for entry into the event grounds resulting in increased attendance and exposure. There will be a separate $25 fee to attend the concert.
The city's Fiscal Year 2019 budget includes $650,000 of Arena Marketing and Co-Promotion Funds for the purpose of offsetting event related expenses incurred in attracting business to the Arena.
The Corpus Christi Business and Job Development Corporation approved $30,000 for the Coastal Bender event at their April 15, 2019 regular meeting.
SMG recognizes Coastal Bender as a wonderful opportunity to give back to our community’s youth and has partnered with Driscoll Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House and Hookspit Junior Anglers Association, an underprivileged youth fishing group. The kids will participate in the event free of charge and the organizations will receive publicity and public education about their programs.
