Special events' gorwth seen as key for region

Tourism officials believe special events increasingly will become the cornerstone of their industry in northern Nevada both for the visitors attracted to events as well as a way to showcase the region.

Executives who put on some of the biggest annual events in Reno agree that special events are a powerful drawing card for visitors, but they say development of major new events may be challenging.

There's little disputing the drawing power of special events.

Organizers of the Great Reno Balloon Race estimate that half the 100,000 folks who attend the event come from out of town.

Hot August Nights estimates its direct economic impact on the region a number that doesn't include any multiplier effect is $132.5 million a year.

At least 70 percent of the crowd at the Reno Championship Air Races comes from out of town, and Mike Houghton, president of the air race association, says, "We have 10,000 people in town before the races even begin." It's little wonder that the Reno- Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority views development of more special events as a way to keep hotel rooms full and cash registers ringing as the gaming industry faces increased competition.

"We do special events well in this area," says Tracy Legarza, sales promotions manager for RSCVA.

"They're very important to us."

For starters, special events provide a competitive advantage as Reno battles the competition of Indian gaming in California.

Says David Saville, executive director of Hot August Nights: "The Thunder Valley casino near Auburn has a lot going for them, but they don't have Hot August Nights.

They don't have the Reno Air Races." Along with the immediate economic benefits from visitors to special events, RSCVA and others believe that special events help create a new identity for northern Nevada.

Marlene Olsen of Olsen & Association Public Relations, which oversees the balloon race, says visitors who see the sun rise on northern Nevada's mountains as they wait for balloons to drift heavenward leave with a new appreciation for Reno.

As executives at RSCVA and elsewhere look to develop the special-events business, they note that Reno has some advantages.

For one, Olsen says, the region has a strong pool of skilled promoters of events.

"Casinos put on events all the time," she says.

"We have a lot of know-how to draw from." Adds Houghton, "We like to throw parties.

That's what a special event is - a party for people with a common interest."

And no one should underestimate the infrastructure in place to support visitors starting with hotel rooms or the nearby availability of tourist destinations such as Lake Tahoe and Virginia City, says Saville So what's to stop Reno from developing an even-larger schedule of special events? The calendar, for one.

The weeks when the weather is best summer and fall are booked nearly solid with events ranging from Hot August Nights to Street Vibrations to the Best in the West Rib Cookoffs to the Reno Championship Air Races and the Great Reno Balloon Race.

And one of the open weekends the one after Hot August Nights probably will be committed to development of a event showcasing classic semi-trailer trucks, Saville says.

That's why RSCVA increasingly looks to other seasons for new special events.

A festival along the new whitewater course in downtown Reno an event for which RSCVA has high hopes is scheduled for April.

A sled-fest in the nearby Sierra also is planned for April.

Saville, meanwhile, says the Events Center now under construction downtown will provide even more flexibility for mid-sized special events through the year.

Another key for development of special events is corporate sponsorships a factor Houghton believes is the singlemost important factor for the long-term success of an event.

Special events, he says, work like businesses with very short windows to collect revenues, and ticket sales don't begin to cover the costs of a major event.

Says Olsen, "We need to stop taking the events we have for granted and support them.

It doesn't take much to support a special event."

Sponsorship packages for the balloon race, for instance, start at $650.

Even at that, Olsen says organizers struggle to keep sponsors.

The most difficult trick, however, may be finding events that combine solid local support with the power to draw visitors.

Houghton notes, for instance, that events in the 1990s ranging from "Country Junction" a country music event to auto racing at the Hilton Hotel failed to generate staying power despite high hopes of organizers.

"Coming up with the right combination of interest sets is the real challenge," Houghton says.

He says, too, that even successful special events often grow slowly.

The transition from a small local event to a big show is difficult and depends heavily on sponsors' support.

"Every event at some point in its beginning almost failed," he says.