Columbia moves forward with plans to host Tour of Missouri stop

According to the Columbia Missourian:

Local event promoters say it’s OK for organizers of a bicycle race across Missouri to make Columbia a stop on the tour, provided that the city ponies up thousands of dollars to make it happen.

Medalist Sports, a Georgia-based sports marketing firm, wants Columbia to host a leg of the Tour of Missouri, a 600-mile, six-stage bicycling race from Kansas City to St. Louis planned for Sept. 11-16.

The Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board this morning recommended that the city front the full amount with money from local hotel tax funds, then repay the money with sponsorships. The Columbia City Council has 30 days to decide. . . .

Organizers estimate 20,000 to 60,000 spectators will stop in Columbia for the finish, and Steiner said the exposure on ESPN and in national news outlets make the event worth the costs it might create. More than 450 media members covered last year’s Tour of Georgia, another Medalist event.

"There’s nothing wrong with equivalent ad value," Steiner said. "If you had to buy the amount of press this is going to generate, we couldn’t afford it."

More information about yesterday's decision here.

Columbia, as a bicycling haven and near the MKT and Katy Trails as well as a growing network of local bicycling routes and trails, has perhaps the most to gain of any Missouri city from the Tour's international press exposure.

The process for Columbia to accept the bid has been somewhat difficult--though I understand the newspaper articles may have exaggerated the controversy somewhat.

The main difficult was in figuring out how to shoehorn this large event into a weekend that already included a number of large events.

Tour of Missouri official web page here.