Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Study shows bike race big for business
West Chester University study proves annual bike race is a big moneymaker for borough businesses
For years, Mark Yoder was confident the annual Benchmark Twilight Cycling Classic was having a positive economic impact on businesses in West Chester. But now the President of the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce has the data to prove it.
According to a study conducted by the West Chester University Department of Economics and Finance, the 2017 summer event generated as much as $166,194 in additional sales at local restaurants and shops from visitors attending the event. And here is the kicker: that number includes only out-of-town visitors attending the day’s festivities, indicating that the impact was solely a result of the event.
“We know the impact it has on the community, but we were never able to actually state how much economic impact,” Yoder said. “So we reached out to (West Chester) University.”
The Iron Hill Criterium debuted in 2005, and the 14th edition will take place on Aug. 11th. Benchmark Federal Credit Union took over as title sponsor a year ago. The racing card includes the Iron Hill Pro Men’s Criterium and Brumbaugh Wealth Management Pro Women’s Criterium.
“I was surprised to see the income it brought to the merchants, specifically the restaurants in West Chester,” said Benchmark President David LaSala.
“It proves that events like this are good for communities. This exposes the borough to people in the region that may not know what downtown West Chester has to offer.”
The study was conducted by WCU students under the direction of professors Simon Condliffe and Matt Saboe.
“They pulled together students who worked with us, and we did post-event and night-off surveys,” Yoder recalled. “That’s where the information was pulled together.”
In order to ensure the true economic impact, residents of West Chester (zip codes 19380 and 19382) were not included in the study.
“I was surprised to see the number of people that came from outside the West Chester area,” LaSala acknowledged. “I guess there is a lot more support for professional bicycle racing than I was aware of.
“People now anticipate this event, especially if they attended in year’s past and enjoyed it.”
According to Yoder, the Benchmark Classic annually draws 10,000-15,000 spectators, making it the second most popular event sponsored by the chamber of commerce. The West Chester Christmas Parade averages 40,000-45,000.
“We really didn’t have an ‘aha moment’ when we read the study,” Yoder said. “But there are things we are addressing on parking and communication and awareness. It was interesting to see where people were traveling from.
“With the bike race, there are definitely departure and arrival times. Families come for the kids’ race and the kids’ zone, businesses come out for the trike race, then families and friends come for the amateur race to see their friend’s race. And then you have the true sports fans who want to see top-level riding stay for the pro-women’s and promen’s races.”
The study revealed that in 2017, 56 percent of the outsideborough visitors had come to the event for the first time -and nearly as many had children in their travel party. The average spending at merchants was $21.86 per visitor, but 53 percent spent more than $25 for food and drink.
Yoder also pointed out that the goal is for the economic impact to extend well beyond the actual day of racing.
“The hope is they come, spend some time here, and see that we have great shopping and restaurants, and they want to come back,” he said.
Before the professional cyclists take to the streets, visitors can enjoy an afternoon of family activities that include the Tolsdorf Trike Challenge, the West Chester Dental Arts Kids’ Race, the Rothman Institute Amateur Criterium, the My Benefit Advisor Kids’ Zone with children’s games and inflatables, and the Northwestern Mutual Community Festival.