Mountain biking event to take Carson City on epic economic ride
Submitted by editor on Mon, 06/06/2016 - 5:53pm
A special event slated to debut in Carson City this month is expected to benefit the the local economy on a graduated basis each year through 2020.
It’s estimated that Carson City Off-Road would generate $1 to $1.5 million in local revenue in 2016, said Joel Dunn, executive director, Carson City Visitors Bureau. About 30 percent of that would be spent for lodging and the rest for retail, restaurants and bars.
The three-day mountain biking festival, June 17-19, is expected to draw at least 3,000 people to the area. Most would be the 600 riders and their travel companions. The remaining visitors are those likely to attend for the other offerings — free live music, an industry expo, a Clunker Crit night bike ride and a pro riders Fat Tire Criterium race through the historic west side.
The Carson City Visitors Bureau extrapolated the data from an economic impact study of Epic Rides’ 2013 Whiskey Off-Road Challenge in Prescott, Ariz. The Seidman Research Institute, the applied research and consultancy arm of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, conducted it the same year.
“The Off-Road event holds the potential to have a similar impact in Carson City,” said the president of Epic Rides and event organizer, Todd Sadow, who considers the numbers conservative. “There are little differentiators in the sales taxes between the cities, counties and states, but I believe that we’re still in the same ballpark.”
The Seidman study showed, too, that visitors to organized mountain biking events are an affluent group, most with a household income above the national average of $52,762, and many plan to return to the area of the race/ride within the subsequent 12 months.
Epic Rides and Carson City have agreed to hold the event for five years as a start. Because Sadow aims to increase the number of riders continually, the festival’s economic impact also should rise.
The plan, which could change based on demand, is to add 300 riders each year between 2017 and 2019 and in the fifth year, take the number from 1,500 to 2,000. Once the event hits that 2,000-rider milestone, targeted for 2020, it would generate about $4.4 million in local revenue and 96 jobs — just as the same event held in Prescott did three years ago, according to The Seidman’s findings.
Travel Nevada also intends to conduct an economic impact study from Carson City’s ride based on numbers collected through a survey from the visitors bureau.
Another benefit to hosting Epic Rides is the marketing that would result from the event, which would help brand the capital city as an affordable way to experience Lake Tahoe.
Before the festival even has taken place, it’s helping the local economy, Dunn said. Many riders have come to town to pre-ride the course, and the International Mountain Biking Association and the International High School Mountain Bike Association have visited recently as well.
“In addition to the economic benefit of the Carson City Off-Road, our partnership with Epic Ride has created international exposure to our world-class trail system connecting Carson City to the Tahoe Basin,” he added.
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