Tour of Missouri

This is the time where most people would say I told you so, but that would just be childish. 

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not to allocate $1M for a 2010 race, and even though they know that the Tour's management and marketing companies have withdrawn from the race.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It sure is funny how Kinder, Hugh and Weiss keep forgetting to tell people that Medalist has withdrawn from the race.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.

The complete Tour of Missouri economic impact study still hasn't been formally released by the Lt. Governor's Office or Tour of Missouri, Inc., despite promises that it would be completed and released to the public in late October or early November.

The public can submit their own Sunshine request to obtain the study, or read it online here -- but there's been no press release, celebratory tweet or even quiet addition to the LG or TOM websites.

Maybe Peter Kinder's Twitter account has been suspended? 

The crowd on High Street inside the final circuit route in Jefferson City, about 4-5 blocks from the finish line.

Last week, we published the economic impact study for the 2009 Tour of Missouri, released almost two months behind schedule in response to a Sunshine request.  The report is still not posted on the Lt. Governor's official website, or on TourofMissouri.com, but you can read it all here.

The crowd and associated spending totals for Stage 4, which finished in Jefferson City, are generating a bit of chatter. The official Tour report states that 71,000 people watched the race in and around Jefferson City, spending $5,410,128 in the area. 

For comparative purposes, a gathering of 71,000 would be:

• 80% larger than the entire population of Jefferson City
• Bigger than any crowd at home Mizzou footbal game since 1978.  The seating capacity at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium was lowered to 68,349 in 1995.
• Almost twice the average attendance for Cardinals' home game.  Busch Stadium's capacity is 46,861.
• More than 3.5 times the average attendance of Royals' home games.  Kauffman Stadium's capacity is 39,000.
• 40% larger than the estimated attendance for the day-long "Salute to America" festival that packs downtown Jefferson City on July 4.

Over at Roger Kramer Cycling, a cycling blog by the design editor at the Belleville News-Democrat, there's more skepticism of the official crowd and economic impact estimates released by Lt. Governor Peter Kinder's office last week.  Kramer writes that skeptics of the crowd numbers "may be onto something":

For example, the study says 26,250 people attended the finish of Stage 2 in Cape Girardeau. At the time, the Southeast Missouri newspaper reported a crowd of just 5,000 for the Stage 2 finish.

Cape Girardeau business also reported significantly less economic activity than we see in the official Tour impact study. A spokesman for the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, along with local Tour organizers, estimated that the race brought more than $314,000 dollars raced into the city.  The official study, however, shows $2,000,223 in total spend for Cape Girardeau -- more than six times what local businesses reported.

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder's office has released the economic impact study for the 2009 Tour of Missouri in response to a Sunshine request made last week. The study was originally slated to be released in late October or early November, and Kinder's office did not explain what caused the delay.

The full report is not available on the Lt. Governor's website or the Tour of Missouri website at this time, but can be read in full here.

I may write more about the report in the days to come, but for now will just highlight this chart with the estimated attendance and spend by stage.

Click here to view a larger version of this chart.

As someone watched the race in Jefferson City, I'll confess I'm a little skeptical of the 71,000 spectator total and $5.4 million in associated activity.

Per my notes from a previous conversation with analyst with the company that completed the study, these spending estimates are just for spectators, and do not include money spent by the riders, their teams, vendors, VIP tents, etc.

In October, Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder's office expected the full economic impact study for the Tour of Missouri to be released by late October/early November. 

Kinder presented topline data about the Tour on October 1, but the full report – with city by city spectator estimates, etc. – is not available on the official office or Tour websites.  (The 2008 report is online here.)

As far as I can tell, the only things released to date are a 1-page press release and a very simple spreadsheet with topline data. 

The Lieutenant Governor's office has not responded to multiple requests for clarification. 

Yesterday morning, before and perhaps during the non-hostage event, the Missouri Tourism Commission voted to approve $1.6 million in budget cuts for the coming year. 

The cuts in spending, as recommended by the body's budget subcommittee, included funds for the 2010 Tour of Missouri.

Minutes from the meeting are not yet available, but it’s my understanding that the decision to remove Tour funding was supported by both Republican and Democratic members of the Commission.

Cape Girardeau was the site of the Tour of Missouri’s Stage 2 finish this year, where local reports are mixed about the economic activity brought in by the event.  In a new report from KFVS, Chuck Martin with the local Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that the race brought $314,000 into the city -- $52,000 in overnight lodging, and $262,000 on meals, shopping and gas. 

You know about the room service, booze, steak, seafood and other nice meals personally enjoyed by Tour of Missouri organizers with taxpayer-subsidized accounts.  But did you also know that taxpayers also helped buy Nordstrom dresses and shoes for the imported Podium Ladies? 

Newly obtained documents from a Sunshine request submitted a few weeks ago show that taxpayer-funded accounts were used to pick up a $222 tab at Nordstrom.com.  Publicly-supported accounts were also also used to purchase two new pairs of shoes for the Ladies for $180. 

T.J. Greney reports in The Columbia Daily Tribune that Columbia will bid to host a Tour of Missouri stage next year, but is openly questioning the local economic impact of bringing the race to town.

City again will bid for stage in Tour of Missouri
Economic gain is questionable.

Columbia will bid to host a stage of the Tour of Missouri next year. However, the city remains lukewarm about the economic impact of the event, and whether the 600-mile bike race will be held at all remains up in the air...

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