Bentonville group eyes athletic event

Amateur Athletic Union seeks $35,000 from host city

BENTONVILLE — The Advertising and Promotions Commission wants to find partnerships to help bring a track and field event to the city that could produce up to $9,000 in lodging tax revenue for Visit Bentonville.

The Amateur Athletic Union wants to host its 2018 Region 16 Qualifier Track and Field Meet in Northwest Arkansas and wants the host city to provide $35,000, according to the organization’s request for funding.

The return on investment from the track and field meet would be great, but Visit Bentonville already has given $83,000 of the $100,000 it allocates each year to support events that could bring tourism dollars to the city, said Kalene Griffith, president and CEO.

“The dollar amount is just so big for us,” she told commissioners at their meeting Thursday. “We’ve never given $35,000 on an event.”

Griffith recommended to proffer $15,000 and assist with finding other partners to help make up the remainder.

Visit Bentonville could request that hotels offer rebates for rooms booked for the event. That rebate amount would be put in the hotel fee then the hotel would give that money to the organizer of the event, she explained, adding it’s been done before with other sporting events.

“I like that because then

that way we’re contributing, they’re contributing. They’re making money on business, we’re making money on tax back,” Chairman Chris Sooter said, referring to the hotels.

Yet, giving $15,000 may limit Visit Bentonville’s ability to assist any other event that asks for money for the rest of the year, Griffith said. Of course, if AAU decided not to accept the offer, then that money would still be available.

Commissioners agreed to offer $15,000 and have Visit Bentonville help solidify hotel rebates.

Event organizers are also looking at Fayetteville and Joplin, Mo., as possible locations, according to the funding request application. The event has been held in Joplin the past few years.

The four-day, three-night event scheduled for June is expected to bring between 1,000 and 1,500 athletes from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas.

“That would be a lot of heads in beds,” Willie Morris, one of the event organizers, told commissioners in a phone conference during their Thursday meeting, referring to the estimated 3,000 hotel nights that would be gained from the event.

Restaurants would see a boost in business, as well, Morris said.

Griffith and commissioners used an estimated $100 daily rate per room to calculate $6,000 could come back to Visit Bentonville from the lodging tax that would be generated from the event.

That could increase to $9,000 if the commission and City Council agree to raise the lodging tax from 2 percent to 3 percent, which was also discussed at Thursday’s meeting. Commissioners are expected to vote on the tax increase at their Nov. 2 meeting.