Vail announces special events funding for 2015

VAIL — Twenty-eight events are receiving support from the town of Vail in 2015 following allocations of $850,000 by the Commission on Special Events and approved by the Town Council. The funding comes both from monies collected from business license fees that are paid annually by Vail businesses and the Town of Vail general fund.

The largest allocation, $85,000, has been awarded to the Vail Valley Foundation to support the GroPro Mountain Games in June. Other funded events returning this year include the Vail Film Festival, Vail Summer Bluegrass Concert Series, Vail Holidaze, Vail America Days, Vail Oktoberfest, Gourmet on Gore, Vail Kids Adventure Games, Spring Back to Vail, Vail Snow Daze, Vail Farmer’s Market and Art Show and Taste of Vail. In addition, favorites such as the Burton U.S. Open, the Hot Summer Nights Free Concert Series, Vail Jazz Festival, Vail Arts Festival, Vail International Dance Festival and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, all of which receive sponsorship allocated by the Vail Town Council, are back to make a cultural impact.

Newly funded events for 2015

Funded at $15,000, FIPS Mouche World Youth Fly Fishing Championships will make its American debut in August as a preview to the World Fly Fishing Championships that will be hosted in Vail in 2016.

Receiving $55,000 and capitalizing on the new Ford Park athletic fields, the annual Kick-It 3v3 Soccer event will double in size from a regional invitational event to a national championship.

Also funded at $25,000 is the Vail Outlier Mountain Bike Festival, an enduro mountain bike race in late September that will take place on Vail Mountain and will be accompanied by a weekend long world-class cycling expo and demo village.

STIMULATING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

The Town Council’s philosophy in supporting special events with public funds is based on the rationale that special events are not an expense but rather help to stimulate the local economy by creating additional revenues and vitality. Research from RRC Associates estimated a direct economic impact of over $64 million to Vail businesses generated through 30 events tracked in 2013. In addition, a $1.21 payback ratio was realized by calculating the incremental town sales tax and Vail Local Marketing District tax revenue per dollar of event funding. Given the importance of this ongoing analysis, the town has contracted with an independent third party research firm to measure the economic impact of all events funded at more than $10,000 in 2015.

To learn more about this year’s events, visit vail-calendar.com or vail.com. For a complete list of the event allocations, go to bit.ly/vailevents.