The City of Wichita is installing directional signage to help the 42,300 bowlers of the Women’s International Bowling Congress move about the city quickly and easily for their tournament and convention. Most installation has already happened with banners being installed on Monday, April 12. The tournament officially kicks off on Thursday. The City of Wichita Public Works department, which includes Traffic Engineering and Street Maintenance, worked with Wichita’s WBA to determine signage needs. The signs are blue background with white lettering and have been placed throughout the city to direct bowlers to the key location points:

• Century II (downtown)
• NorthRock Lanes (northeast)
• Thunderbird Bowling Center (southeast)
• Countryside Lanes (northwest)

"The City of Wichita felt that it was very important to make our city easy to navigate in," said Mayor Carlos Mayans. "This convention is very important to Wichita and the WIBC is anticipating an economic impact of more than $40 million pumped into our local economy. We wanted for these visitors to feel welcome and at ease with driving around the city on their own."

The 65 directional signs help bowlers get to the right tournament. Signs will say:

• 40 Frame (a type of tournament that will be played at Countryside Lanes)
• WIBC Team (team tournament played at Thunderbird Lanes)
• WIBC D/S (doubles and singles tournament played at NorthRock Lanes)

"Signage is a key issue for our tournaments," said Cissie Bryant, Executive Director of Wichita’s WBA. "When our women come into the town, without that signage, they don’t feel welcome. Our headquarters reviewed the sign plan and were elated and confident that the members and delegates will appreciate the work of Mayor Mayans and the city."

The City of Wichita and the Wichita’s WBA have been getting many phone calls about the signs. When they find out that the signs are directional to the bowling centers, many ask why they are routed down Oliver. This was done to avoid construction on east Kellogg. Another debate is why route Century II traffic down Seneca instead of Main and the Central Business District. This route was made to avoid visitors getting stuck in the back up that sometimes happens in peak hours for the downtown.

Among the other things to look for to help the City of Wichita put on that extra special touch for the visitors include:

• Welcome signs placed on the overhead walkways at Kellogg & I-35 and Pawnee & I-135 (special State permission was granted for this request).
• Street sweepers out in full force, especially at the key locations.

The 85th annual 2004 WIBC Championship Tournament will be April 15-July 6. The final numbers show that 8,398 five-player teams will compete at Thunderbird Lanes and NorthRock Lanes. The tournament will feature 21,147 sets of doubles, 42,294 singles entries and 39,808 all-events entries. A 40-frame tournament will be at Countryside Lanes. The prize fund has reached an estimated $1.7 million, the largest outside Reno, Nevada. WIBC is anticipating an economic impact of more than $40 million, based on previous WIBC events with similar participation levels. The tournament attracts bowlers from every U.S. state and Canada, as well as international participants. It is the largest participatory sporting event in the world for women. The City of Wichita, Century II, Greater Wichita Convention & Visitors Bureau and the local chapter of the WIBC have worked together to make their stay in Wichita a great one.

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