Sarasota rowing blockbuster dished out cool vibes

The torch had been figuratively snuffed out Oct. 1 and the 2017 World Rowing Championships at Nathan Benderson Park was being packed up and rolled away.

Only a smattering of cars remained in the huge parking lot adjacent to the Mall at University Town Center as I rode an imitation trolley car away from the venue to the lot. I disembarked with about five other media types, who had finished their reports after the bulk of the crowd had streamed away.

As I took the first steps toward my car, I looked over at a solo guitarist, doing his best Carlos Santana imitation at the trolley stop while sitting under an umbrella in the afternoon heat. He sat adjacent to a long string of "Adopt a Team" artwork that had been painted by students from school districts in Sarasota and Manatee counties, and then blown up to 12 feet by 16 feet display panels.

I looked over at the guitarist and he looked back. I was his audience, all of it.

"Oye Como Va," he sang.

I was doing quite well, thank you.

Here it was, after 2 p.m., more than two hours following the final race, with most of the patrons long gone, and the event was still giving back.

Somewhere in a boardroom in January, it was suggested the event should include live music in the parking lot, just so the final stragglers would leave Sarasota with a great impression. Good to the last drop.

Indeed, it was.

As events go, the 2017 World Rowing Championship committee had this one planned down to the most minute of details. Part of that has to do with live televised coverage, which has to pack everything in a predetermined window. Each event started exactly on its scheduled time. After the events, the medal winning athletes stood in a single-file line, pointing at the medal stand, as a woman counted down their departure.

"Three ... two ... one ... walk! Go, go, go!"

Members of the media had strict marching orders when it came to covering the event. Certain areas were off limits, and they had to crouch on command during races so they wouldn't block the views of the cameras. One photographer ventured into forbidden territory and was swarmed by a bevy of volunteers. I'm not saying anything bad happened to him, but I never saw him again.

I made sure I walked the straight and narrow.

I didn't mind, either, because of the professionalism shown in hosting the event. How the heck do you take 1,300 volunteers and pull things off without a hitch? The attention to detail was impressive.

When it comes to rating the event for organization, it was straight As.

The dollars and sense of hosting such an event won't be figured out until November, when groups such as Visit Sarasota plug in all the returns from the area hotels and restaurants and figure out the economic impact, which has been estimated to be about $25 million.

That all has to be measured against the cost of running a week-long event meant to host 40,000 spectators. Additional law enforcement and security isn't cheap. Sarasota and Manatee counties have promotional costs. Traffic patterns can be disrupted. Clean-up costs can be substantial.  Somebody has to pay the Carlos Santana clone.

Whether the event was worth it will be debated.

For right now, though, I'm not going to worry about the economic feasibility. It's easy to chill with a little Santana.