By Brett Fisher
The inaugural Carson City Off-Road racing series, part of the Epic Rides mountain biking circuit, was more than successful.
It was epic.
Todd Sadow, co-founder and president of Epic Rides, said the race around the Nevada state capital exceeded expectations.
“It turned out to be more than we expected it would be,” he said. “The production of the event was very smooth, and that was a testament to our local event committee headed up by Kurt Meyer.”
Considering the size and scope of this first-time race, Sadow said the coordination and cooperation between organizers, the city and the community was key to pulling off a successful event.
“These events require a lot of people being on the same page. There’s a lot of corroboration required,” he said. “Everybody went to the lengths necessary to ensure a smooth operating event.”
Equally important to the positive outcome of the Carson City Off Road race was the turn-out of riders, supporters and spectators, Sadow said.
“Another critical component is that we have people,” he said. “The event sold out six weeks before the event weekend, and that’s huge for us.”
Joel Dunn, executive director of the Carson City Visitors Bureau, said lodging in the state capital was sold out over the weekend.
This was due, in part, to the Epic Rides mountain bike races, but also because of the many other events being held in Carson City over the same weekend.
“When you look at the magnitude of what we saw over the weekend, we have a little over 1,200 rooms available in Carson City,” he said. “This weekend, we certainly didn’t have enough rooms available for all of the events we had going on in Carson City.”
Dunn said annual events like the Stewart Indian School Father’s Day Pow-Wow and the Carson City Airport Fly-In Open House occurred at the same time as Epic Rides, significantly adding to a robust cash-flow weekend for the state capital.
“The Pow Wow has a tremendous impact,” he said. “And the airport open house is always a regional draw.”
New this year besides Epic Rides was the Steampunk N Trains themed event held at the Nevada State Railroad Museum, Dunn said.
“That turned out to be a huge success,” he said.
Finally, there was the All World Sports Midnight Madness baseball tournament held over the weekend at the John D. Winters Centennial Sports Complex in east Carson City, Dunn said.
“All World Sports had a very successful 30-team tournament in the shadows of everything else that was going on,” he said. “Most of those teams come from out of the area.”
Dunn said that because the demand for lodging over the weekend was higher than Carson City’s supply, there was an overflow effect into nearby communities.
“Everything we did had more of a regional impact because we were so full,” he said. “The impact spilled into surrounding communities.”
Dunn said some of the demand was felt in south Reno, but most of the excess went into Minden and Gardnerville.
Sandra Nagel, general manager of the Hampton Inn in Carson City, said her 85-room hotel along North Carson Street had reached its capacity on the first night of the busy weekend.
“We were extremely full,” she said. “It was very busy between the sports tournaments and Epic Rides.”
She said virtually all of the rooms were booked ahead of time and most of the rooms were at maximum capacity, sleeping up to four people per room.
Very little, if any, of the business over the weekend was walk-in, Nagel said.
“It was everybody making the advanced reservations,” she said. “I think with all of the sports tournament and the different things that are going on in town it’s definitely keeping us very busy.”
Dunn said lodging revenue alone is expected to gross in excess of $100,000 per night in Carson City between Friday and Sunday.
That amount is based on rates between $90 and $130 per night, he said, as well as the fact that maximum occupancy was reached throughout the event-packed weekend.
“It’s safe to say that when we fill all of our rooms in the top 13 (lodging) properties, you’re looking at over $450,000 in new wealth to our community,” he said.
This is also taking into account retail, restaurant, and entertainment spending by visitors, Dunn said.
“The largest percentage of visitor spending comes in the way of retail and entertainment,” he said.
Sadow said the overall economic impact of Epic Rides on the community is projected to be over a million dollars, based upon numbers extrapolated from research and assessments leading up to last weekend’s inaugural races.
“It would suggest that we have over a million dollar impact on the community, and that’s doesn’t count the media impact,” he said. “The advertising value is extraordinarily high on this one. We didn’t expect the media to be this receptive at this point in the game.”
Carson City Ward 1 Supervisor Karen Abowd, who also sits on the Carson City Visitors Bureau Board of Directors, said the weekend’s activities were a boon to area businesses, including the Cafe at Adele’s, which she co-owns with her husband, Charlie Abowd.
“Businesses were busy downtown as was our restaurant all weekend,” she said. “Our customers were abuzz with how wonderful all the events in town were.”
Sales tax revenue generated over the weekend will give a boost to the general fund, Abowd said, which helps to pay for essential services.
There are also other items earmarked for sales tax funding that will benefit from the weekend’s economic activity, Abowd said.
“There are dedicated percentages of sales tax that go for open space, the V&T, and infrastructure corridor improvements,” she said.
Along with an increase in tax revenue, the boon of the past weekend could also be a positive sign toward future economic growth.
Dunn said the weekend’s impact on local lodging and hospitality services is likely to further stimulate interest in the area from potential investors.
“There are investors looking at Carson City based on our current occupancy, as well as our significantly increased daily rates over the last 36 months,” he said. “They are looking at us as a very wise investment.”
But that doesn’t mean the Ormsby House will be reopening any time soon, Dunn said. The investors he spoke of haven’t mentioned interest in the vacant hotel at the corner of Fifth and Carson streets.
That said, Dunn added, the property would have come in handy over the past weekend.
“The Ormsby House would have provided a significantly better experience for those downtown,” he said.
Lodging and hospitality, though, are but one piece of the economic pie that Dunn said he hopes will be shared by local businesses across the board.
“Our goal is to bring bigger and better events that have a widespread umbrella of economic impact for our entire community,” he said.
The inaugural Carson City Off-Road race series is scheduled to be an annual event for the next five years, according to a three-way contract signed between the event organizer, Epic Rides, the city, and the Carson City Visitors Bureau, said Carson City Transportation Manager Patrick Pittenger.
“Per that agreement, we expect that event to grow over the next several years,” he said.
Sadow agrees, adding that the success of the first year is a reflection of the effective relationship that has been forged between Epic Rides, city government, and the visitors bureau.
It is now a marker upon which to measure the success of the next four events to follow.
“Together we were really able to deliver for the event, and that sets the stage for the future, Sadow said. “It’s not unreasonable to expect the event will surpass expectations for many years to come above the original plan.”
Mayor Bob Crowell said he was just as impressed by local support of and participation in weekend events as he was the turn-out by visitors to the Carson City area.
“This past weekend, with all its events and happenings, demonstrated our sense of place and community pride,” he said. “The amount of positive energy in our community over this past weekend was simply phenomenal.”
Crowell said he received positive feedback over the weekend from area vistors and residents alike.
“I spoke with many folks from out of town who were extremely impressed with our city and our welcoming attitude,” he said. “I also spoke with many residents who expressed great pride in our community.”
