NIAGARA FALLS — Have you seen them? They’re everywhere ...

First, I caught a glimpse of a purple haze parading past my home earlier this month. More recently a long line of lanky, limber limbs lunged past me while I was in traffic near Hyde Park, then a few days later I noticed a whole pack of purple pacers prancing up and down the Parkway and later, along Porter Road near the high school.

Who are these people; what are they doing, and for goodness sake, why are they running so early in the morning, even in the rain?

Are they crazy? Am I seeing things ... again?

To my relief, I eventually realized, they’re mostly students back at Niagara University and other local schools getting in shape for this years sports season.

Taken together with the local fitness fans and the cadre of out of town guests who bring their penchant for an early morning jog with them from other places near and far, this place at this time of the year begins to look a lot like a gigantic track and field venue and that got me to thinking ... a potentially dangerous proposition, indeed!

When you look at Niagara Falls through unjaundiced eyes, past the scarred landscape, beyond the temporal blight and silly manmade mistakes, there lies just beneath the damaged surface, an amazingly boundless bounty of beauty just waiting to be uncovered, rediscovered and shared.

When I close my eyes and imagine what Niagara could be, I see it as it must have been thousands of years ago, long before we got here, an enormous natural wonder surrounded by splendor, and then I imagine within it, an emerald, the city within the wonder.

Then, when I open my eyes and see the joggers, the bicyclists, the daily walkers, the busy playgrounds and parks, I see a potential option with a potentially significant economic impact for the future of Niagara Falls, a place which could grow to become known as a healthy, fun city, perhaps even as a venue for sporting events.

Not exactly an original ideal, many cities, states and even entire countries have studied and considered the impact of students and sports on their communities.

One commentator, Brendan Sato recently wrote on the subject in an article titled, “The effect of sports events on local economy.”

“Popular sports events like World Cups and Olympics can actually give a significant boost to the economy. Even though these events involve large investments on things such as venues and infrastructure, many countries worldwide compete to win hosting rights of major sporting events. These events bring significant economic, reputational and social benefits for the hosting country.”

Sato points out, “The hotel industry of the country is the first to benefit from the hosting of any big event. The hotels witness an increase in business due to influx of players, celebrities and spectators from all over the globe. In order to make the best of this opportunity, the hotels even hike the prices of rooms and all associated services. This is the reason why sports events are usually organized in the tourist attracting destinations to lure the visitors for extended stays.”

Hey, that’s us!

He goes on to say, “Even a daylong event at a popular destination can encourage extended stays adding to the profits of the hotel industry. For instance, the sporting events such as the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Lions Rugby Tour in 2009 in South Africa helped the country to get out of the recession and boosted the tourism industry, which had suffered massively due to appreciating rand, which was inflating the expenses of the tourists.”

Sports events do not just bring along short term benefits, but also many long term economic benefits for the host country. The country usually sees large inflows of money during the event,” according to Sato and many others.

Sato concludes, “These events also have a positive impact on job creation and infrastructure development.

As our own more recent experience demonstrates with the rebirth of the New York State Empire Games, the impact goes far beyond the economy as Pete Harvey, the Director of Sport Development at Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau put it, “Having the Games back here in Buffalo is just wonderful for everyone, the economy, the students coming into the area, the schools for the possibility of recruiting student athletes.”

With nearly 6,000 athletes competing and an average of two spectators per athlete the actual economic impact on hotels, and restaurant meals probably exceeded the estimated $10-12 million forecast.

While an influx of more students, more sports and a healthier living environment may offer no panacea to our rather formidable challenges, when taken together with the natural beauty and the amazing cultural heritage we have just sitting here waiting to be cultivated, they can certainly add weight to the basket of opportunity we have sitting before us.

Don’t cha think?

Contact Bill at: bill.bradberry@yahoo.com.