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Tournaments big business for PA 8/1/03 You see them come and go, young people in uniforms and their parents filling local stores, restaurants and motels. But what you don’t see are the dollars that come with all those people. During this week’s meeting of the city’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Director Marc Connelly gave a report showing the city is probably getting a tenfold return on its investment to organize and promote the various tournaments that come to town. Those tournaments have become a steady stream of events in recent years, from baseball to basketball, with teams, and their families, coming from all over the region. The city Parks Department helps to sponsor a total of 22 events a year, spending around $150,000. That money is a combination of funds. About $80,000 comes from the city’s general fund, a little less than $30,000 from hotel-motel taxes and the balance from the activities fund. But Connelly’s report suggests the city is getting a lot of bang for that buck, with the economic impact estimated at just over $1 million per year. That’s money spent on motels, food, lodging, gas, virtually everything it takes to keep teenagers and their parents happy for a weekend in Port Angeles. The Parks Department says that impact doesn’t include the money generated by other events throughout the year, like Arts in Action, that the city also supports. |