Next year's inaugural Pro Cycling Tour Rocky Mountain Classic, to be held in Vail, Colo., Sept. 3-5, could attract about 20,000 visitors to the area. That could mean $8 million in revenue for the Colorado resort, said Rick Chastain, director of event marketing for the Vail Valley Chamber & Tourism Bureau.
Though such a dollar figure is dwarfed in comparison to the impact that, say, a Super Bowl has for its host community, it's a tidy sum nonetheless. That's why Vail and other smaller markets focus their efforts on landing second-tier events.
Earlier this month, for example, the Vail Valley Chamber teamed with the Pro Cycling Tour, the professional bicycle road-racing circuit that launched in 2000, to create the annual PCT Rocky Mountain Classic at Vail.
Chastain said the chamber also has had conversations with the PGA Tour about snagging a stop on its senior circuit, the Champions Tour.
Vail's strategy starts with what Chastain calls the demographic test. "Does the event appeal to our target market?" he said. He describes that market as affluent folks who have an active lifestyle.
"We also seek relationships that have more legs to them than just the event [itself]," Chastain said. For example, through its deal with the PCT, Vail becomes the official resort of the 2004 Pro Cycling Tour, giving it a marketing presence at other tour stops: Philadelphia, New York and San Francisco, all of which are key markets for Vail. The community often seeks multiyear partnerships.
"We see ourselves not only as an event host site but also as a sponsor, who has a product to sell — in this case, tourism," Chastain said.
During the past five years, the Mobile (Ala.) Area Sports Commission has had ties to 65 sports events in the market. Those events have contributed more than $60 million to the area, said Danny Corte, president of the Mobile Area Sports Commission.
Recently, Mobile beat out several large-market competitors, namely Atlanta and Chicago, to snare the Senior Softball World Championships, which will take place Oct. 16-26. The event is expected to feature nearly 200 teams — some from as far away as Japan and Europe.
Mobile has attracted events in 16 sports, ranging from track and field to fishing to gymnastics, over the past five years. "I've even talked to people about paintball tournaments," Corte said. "If there's a winner, it's a sport."
In Richmond, Va., part of the strategy developed by the Richmond Sports Backers, a nonprofit sports commission, is to create events that are owned locally. "You don't lose them [to other cities], and there are no bid fees," said Jon Lugbill, executive director of the Richmond Sports Backers.
Among those locally owned properties are the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K and the new Maymont X-Country Festival, which will debut Sept. 26-27.
Richmond's sports commission also is looking to attract events that appeal primarily to a younger crowd. The idea is to market Richmond as a much more hip and happening place than its perception might be.
One example is the Brooks Muddy Buddy, in which two-person teams compete in a 10K event that combines running and mountain biking. While one teammate bikes, the other runs, and vice versa. They have to overcome physical obstacles throughout the course, including a mud pit near the end of the race.
"We also want to showcase Richmond and its attributes — its history, its beautiful parks," Lugbill said, pointing to Pocahontas State Park and the James River as evidence of the area's natural beauty.
