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Missouri didn’t support the Tour of Missouri for 2010

August 1, 2010 Bicycling, Downtown, Economy, Events/Meetings, Politics/Policy 12 Comments

The task of the Missouri Division of Tourism is to attract tourists to visit Missouri  — and leave behind some of their money in the process.

ABOVE: Tour of Missouri 2009
ABOVE: Pro cyclists in St. Louis for the start of Tour of Missouri 2009

ABOVE: Tour of Missouri 2009
ABOVE: Racing teams have lots of support staff.

Without $1 million dollars from the state, the organizers had to cancel the 2010 Tour of Missouri. The tourism budget is roughly $13 million.  The poll this week seeks your opinion on the canceling of the Tour of Missouri.  The poll is in the upper right corner.

– Steve Patterson

 

Currently there are "12 comments" on this Article:

  1. JZ71 says:

    Liked the race and the racing, but I'm not sure if spending 8% of the state's tourism budget on one event was/would be the wisest expenditure, either. We have events going on every weekend, and only a small minority of tourists are actually interested in bike racing. Realistically, a large part of the $1M should have come from private sponsors. If the organizers had asked, instead for $100,000 or $200,000 from the state, the odds of receiving it would've been much higher.

     
    • The total budget of the Tour of Missouri was well above $1 million. Many sponsors from all over the country — and world — are needed to host such an event.

       
  2. Aron says:

    The state does support the tour. It Gov Nixon and Gov Nixon alone who killed it. Democrat or not, the blame needs to go where it belongs. And it belongs on his shoulders.

     
  3. Pfoodman says:

    No major sponsors stepped up, money is tight with the state and Nixon, well that is a whole other story. Medalist Sports sets the price for their template/pro line-up. Obviously not worth it in the eyes of business or government for a cross state series. Ask the city of St. louis what they really think about Medalist getting paid first. You might learn a thing or two. We can build our own tour with grass roots if we build the culture and keep building it. I might also suggest a more concentrated geographic footprint. So what is all that wrong with top amatuer racing? Less doping for one.

     
  4. Cheryl says:

    We need some data to put this in perspective. What is the total state tourism budget and what else is it being spent on? Are other tourism projects also being dropped? Were new ones added that supplanted this one?

     
  5. Adam Woehler says:

    The point is moot now… Lance has snapped up the ToM spot on the UCI calendar for a Tour of Colorado. The Tour of Missouri will never be back.

    http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/07/news/tou

     
    • JZ71 says:

      Stage racing has come and gone several times in Colorado (Coors Classic, Red Zinger, etc.). A tour of Missouri could return IF the sponsors can be found, along with a more-receptive political climate. One huge difference, currently, is that Colorado Gov. Ritter is an avid cyclist (broke his collar bone training earlier this year), while Gov. Nixon obviously has other priorities.

      Have to agree with Pfoodman, too, that a smaller footprint would be easier for both logistics and spectators. Statewide works better for large recreational rides (RAGBRAI, Ride the Rockies), while criteriums and multi-loop stage races do a better job of showcasing pro talent.

       
  6. wjcrunner says:

    I think it is a much wiser investment to spend the money on things like Mark Twain Days and the Pony Express Anniversary than a bike race that brings athletes from all over the world. Obviously the aforementioned events and others like it will bring much more of an economic impact to the SHOWMESTATE that a stupid bike race that only brought an estimated $38 million of economic impact.

    Of course you would have to be an absolute buffoon to believe that I am serious. Aside from the obvious sarcasm, anyone with half a brain could assess the value of celebrating an author who considered Connecticut his home while acting out his fictional stories as god-given truth (see: Hannibal) to be next to nil.

    Enjoy those free highway maps and Silver Dollar City!

     
  7. Rob says:

    I am glad the tourist dollar allocations have been given to other events in MO. Now Methfest out in Mark Twain Forest can finally get the funding it has been looking for! Why would Jay Nixon want Alberto Contador, Mark Cavendish, or even Lance to come to MO. I hope his career as Gov is one term only. Thankfully, I Colorado is close enough where i can go and watch the race and spend my MO earned money in another state.

    I cannot even describe in words how much i hate Nixon for this. Now every stupid decision he makes snowballs.. TOM, Historic Tax Credit cuts, and College education program cuts to name a few.

    I even went to one of his fundraisers downtown and he sounded like a complete yes man. He should be a used car salesman and nothing else.

     
  8. STLbikefan says:

    The economic impact report and its methodology are part of the public record and available- and anyone can discuss this report with company that compiled the information- IFM. It should be noted that Govenor Nixon refused all meeting on the topic. It should also be noted that the Missouri General Assembly voted to have the event funded through the Division of Tourism- which is an appointed body, by Jay Nixon- and this is how the support was squelched.

    Additionally- the head of the board of Tourism, Marci Bennet from St. Joseph- was outspoken against the event- despite putting bids in to host the event in 2008, 2009 AND 2010. Excuse me, but which side of her mouth were we talking to?

    The City of St. Louis and the CVC were supporters of the event. All of the major professional sports in Missouri receive subsidies and support, including a once in a great long while event like the All Star Game. Cycling is no different, except the benefits are distributed throughout the State and we don't need a stadium or ball park village.

    It takes vision to do something different- and a leader to have a dialogue. We apparently don't have either.

     
  9. Greg Bosch says:

    I think the cancellation of this years tour is unfortunate. Maybe not everyone in Missouri is a cycling fan but this event and others like it are intended to draw tourist to Missouri, not necessarily for the sole entertainment of Missourians, and there are cycling fans world wide. This event was on the fast track to take off as a major cycling event on the world stage. I have heard from sources closer to the event that cycling teams found this race to be a real challenge because it was difficult for the cyclist to get into a rhythm traveling along through Missouri's rolling hills. I can't image that our tourism division will be able to come up with an event that has the potential to disperse as much attention and tourism dollars as widely as this event could. What an unfortunate political waste.

     
  10. JZ71 says:

    Schedule and route for Tour of Colorado announced: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16524164

     

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