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Marathons provide cash infusion for tourism sector
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The Toronto Star-Morgan Campbell
Toronto's dueling marathons create headaches for drivers forced to navigate around 42.2 kilometres of road closures twice a year.
And they make headlines as relations between the directors of the two races grow increasingly tense, with city planners caught in the middle.
But the two events — this Sunday's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and the springtime Goodlife Toronto Marathon — also make money.
A lot of it.
Scotiabank Marathon race director Alan Brookes estimates Sunday's event and the events leading up to it will generate at least $15 million in local economic activity, and Goodlife race director Jay Glassman figures his event will add the same amount to the local economy next May.
Figures like that might explain why mayor Rob Ford, who once proposed moving the races off city streets and into parks, is now such a marathon supporter that he declared this week “Marathon Week.”
For all the inconvenience they cause, marathons remain a recession-resistant revenue source for cities worldwide, and while bickering race directors and disgruntled motorists might make a lot of noise the sound of ringing cash registers might just drown them all out.
“They've captured the imagination of the world and every city worth its salt has to have that big-league marathon,” Brookes says.
This year more North American cities will host more than 300 marathons, and Sunday three of them will take place within driving distance of Toronto. Three hours west Detroit and Windsor will host their shared marathon, while the Columbus marathon in Ohio announced this week that it had reached its 17,000-runner capacity.
In Toronto 22,000 runners are registered to compete Sunday and getting them across the finish line will impact the economy at several levels.
A large chunk of the $3 million budget for Sunday's race will pay local business who supply services — fencing, signs, traffic cones — essential to the event.
And with roughly 4,500 runners from outside the GTA, the marathon provides a well-timed boost to local tourism industry.
Andrew Weir of Tourism Toronto notes that while Toronto receives plenty of weekend visitors over the summer those numbers dip in the spring and fall, a dilemma the city's two marathons help remedy.
“The major marathons around the world are global events and from a tourism standpoint that's the future for marathons,” Weir says. “It's been a lucrative market for us to continue to exploit.”
And while the economic downturn has slowed job growth across the economy, it hasn't dented demand for big-time road races. All three of Sunday's races — five-kilometre, half-marathon and full marathon — were sold out before the race. The demand spawned an underground market on Craigslist, where some hopefuls offered up to $250 to buy a spot in the race from registered runners.
On Friday the pre-race expo took over the Direct Energy Centre, with retailers raking in cash from runners not shy about spending it.
Newmarket resident Jeff Parker bought a $50 pair of compression shorts from a local manufacturer at the expo, and in the two weeks since he took up running he has already spent more than $300 on gear.
“The shoes cost a lot of money,” said Parker, who will run Sunday's 5k race.
“It's important to get really good shoes or your feet will suffer.”
But all that commerce doesn't mean every marathon is immune to recessions and when sponsors tighten their budgets, races in smaller markets can suffer.
In Ottawa, organizers had to search for a new title sponsor when ING Bank declined to renew its agreement with the race.
“It's about putting on the best event you possibly can, which takes money,” said race director Jim Robinson, adding that the Ottawa race was close to signing a new title sponsor. “It's also about making sure your bottom line remains in the black.”
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