Tour of Missouri

Update #2: And Kathleen Nelson of the Post-Dispatch has finally reported on the email she received last Friday. Headline: "Tour of Missouri canceled for 2010." 

Update #1: The Riverfront Times reports that Tour of Missouri chairman Mike Weiss is finally downshifting.

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Peter Kinder and Tour of Missouri (TOM) organizers continue their online campaign for public funding in 2010, even though they know that the Tourism Commission has decided not to allocate $1M for a 2010 race, and even though they know that the Tour's management and marketing companies have withdrawn from the race. 

Kinder has kept up the tweeting (yesterday and today), and Tour organizer Brent Hugh published a blog post last night trying to create uncertainty about the status of public funding in 2010 where none exists. 

Today in the Sedalia Democrat, we're told by fellow race organizer Mike Weiss that "without the participation of [Medalist Sports, the Tour's management company], the event would have to be canceled." I don't think anyone disputes that point.  But Weiss and Hugh also told the Democrat that Medalist "could still be brought in," though "the window of opportunity is closing quickly."

It sure is funny how Kinder, Hugh and Weiss keep forgetting to tell people that Medalist has withdrawn from the race. (And by funny, I mean not funny at all.)  Kinder, Hugh and Weiss know perfectly well that Medalist Sports is out of the picture because they received the following emails on Friday afternoon:

From: Chris Aronhalt
To: Mike Weiss; Peter Kinder; Brent Hugh; Richard Aubuchon; Kelly Swanson
Cc: Gina Walsh; Scott Hovis; Eric Rhone; Ryan McKenna; Jack Goodman; Marci Bennett; Katie Steele Danner; Maynard Wallace; John Joslyn; Kathleen Nelson ; Steve Brunner; David Porthouse ; Jim Birrell; Kelly Greene
Sent: Fri May 21 14:48:22 2010
Subject: Re:

On behalf of Medalist Sports, we are now officially stepping out of the effort. Its clear the vision, leadership and desire is no longer apparent, which is a critical component to a successful world-class event.

Peter Kinder and top-level Tour of Missouri organizers have known since at least Friday that the Tour of Missouri will not happen in 2010.  But for reasons that are not entirely clear, they refuse to share that information with their supporters.

Friday, representatives of Medalist Sports and KOM Sports, the marketing partner of Medalist, unambiguously stated that they were pulling out of the event.  This hasn't been reported in the mainstream press (as far as I know), but it's hardly a secret.

Today, Kinder tweeted his support for a Brent Hugh blog post demanding additional meetings with Governor Nixon and his staff about what Hugh calls "Tour of Missouri-gate" (i.e., the Tourism Commission has chosen not to allocate $1M of its $13M budget for the race).  Also today, the administrators of the "Support the Tour of Missouri" Facebook group called for a "a tidal wave of calls & emails," and yesterday stated that the race "has not yet been canceled."

Would it be worth informing said "tidal wave" that Medalist and KOM are out? 

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, his staff and Tour of Missouri organizers are directing supporters to a new KSHB story which closes with the following:

Race supporters say that if the state would allocate even a modest amount of money -- even far less than the million dollars they expected -- it would open the door to more private funding. Because They say they have sponsors waiting who don't want to commit when it looks like state leaders do not support the event.

This is obviously quite a change.  Tour supporters cranked up their campaign asking the Tourism Commission to allocate $1,000,000 for the Tour late last week (around the time they'd previously declared to be the deadline for a Commission decision on the funding). 

That's what I read on Page A4 of The Kansas City Star today. Why is the Star burying this huge scoop on page four in the second to last paragraph of a Mary Sanchez column?

Solidifying the [Tour of Missouri] for our state would be akin to Missouri hosting the World Cup every year, without having to bid for it.

So I’d love to hear the explanation for why in tough economic times small businesses across Missouri might lose out on a $30 million return for a $1 million state investment.

Who knew that hosting the Tour of Missouri "would be akin" to hosting the most widely-viewed sporting event sporting event on the planet -- every year, instead of every four years? 

I'd love to see the data and hear an explanation for why this isn't an absurd statement, but this is the Tour of Missouri we're talking about! You can just make up your facts, and then supporters will worry about whether or not they make sense.

As Peter Kinder and supporters of the Tour of Missouri make a final push for public funding to fill the hole left by Kinder's refusal or inability to find corporate sponsors, it's worth noting that Kinder and TOM, Inc. have still not released the full data to justify their economic impact claims. 

An editorial in today's News-Press:

We understand why Tour of Missouri boosters are trying to preserve a component of state financial support in their overall $3.5 million budget that largely is funded through private and corporate donations.

In 2009, according to the Associated Press, only $1.344 million of the race's $3.5 million budget came from corporate sponsors.  The state provided $1.5 million in tourism money, and another $500,000 from the Missouri Development Finance Board. 

State tourism money was also a large part of the race budget in previous years: $1.7M in 2008 and $1.45M in 2007.  The MDFB provided $500,000 in 2008 and $350,000 in 2007.

News-Press reporter Jimmy Myers transcribes the pitch for a 2010 Tour of Missouri supported by public funding. 

It seems an easy sell on the surface — the tour brought more than $38 million into the state last year, and gained back the state’s investment in tax revenue, [Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation] said. It also brought invaluable international exposure to Missouri.

“If the state is going to put in a certain amount of money,” he said, “immediately, four or five times that amount will come in from private sponsorship.”

Myers allows Hugh to assert -- without challenge -- that the 2009 Tour of Missouri "brought more than $38 million into the state," that it "gained back the state’s investment in tax revenue," and that a 2010 appropriation would "immediately" generate $4-$5 million in corporate sponsorships.

The Associated Press reports that Peter Kinder will no longer serve as Chairman of Tour of Missouri, Inc., and day-to-day operations for the race will now be handled by the Missouri Bicycle Racing Association and the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation.

Kinder's spokesperson says this development has been part of "the original plan from the get-go," but the president of the Missouri Bicycle Racing Association is optimistic that Kinder's diminished role will help their fundraising efforts.

Still, Kinder promises to fight to protect TOM funding from budget cuts in the coming weeks.

Last night, as the House Budget Committee was debating drastic cuts to public education, Lt. Governor Peter Kinder made his first public request for support of the 2010 Tour of Missouri (TOM). 

Kinder and his spokesman directed folks to a new page on the TOM website, "Ten Ways To Support The Tour of Missouri." Beyond the standard requests to join an email list and sign on to a not-yet-functional petition, Tour organizers are also seeking donations, asking Missouri residents to "contact your local representatives" and calling for supporters to "write/call/email/or send smoke signals to the local media." 

Kinder and Tour staff have not yet specified how much public money they are seeking for the 2010 race.

Yesterday afternoon, Deputy Lt. Governor Jerry Dowell used his Tour of Missouri email account notify potential supporters of an upcoming fundraiser for HD21 House Candidate John Cauthorn on behalf Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley and the House Republican Campaign Committee.

Kinder's office has confirmed to The News-Leader that Dowell sent the campaign email from his state computer. 

A copy of the illegal email is below the fold.