Tourism officials debate Elite Event funding recommendations

Tourism officials have $2 million to support events that showcase the area to a wide audience; however, they received 51 applications totaling $3 million, and just 21 were considered elite.

Visit St. Pete-Clearwater (VSPC) presented Elite Event funding recommendations to the Tourist Development Council (TDC) at its July 17 meeting. The list annually sparks debate.

Brian Lowack, CEO of VSPC, began his presentation by explaining this year’s focus on large-scale events. He said the organization implemented new guidelines, and “we had more eyeballs on these projects than ever before.”

“There are some incredible events that we have in this destination – all of them that applied are really great events,” Lowack said. “But we were laser-focused on, specifically, heads in beds and marketing opportunities.”

Craig Campbell, director of community engagement, noted the “tough conversations” surrounding who deserved funding. No one disagreed with the top-ranked events.

The Valspar Championship golf tournament in Palm Harbor topped the list with over 106,000 projected attendees and 31,000 room nights. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and The Annika, a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) event in Belleair, ranked second and third, respectively.

VSPC recommended providing those with $150,000, the maximum allowed. Funding debates began with the fourth-ranked St. Petersburg Powerboat Grand Prix.

The longstanding event expects to attract over 50,000 people to the downtown waterfront in October and generate 7,500 room nights. While race organizer Powerboat P1 requested $150,000, VSPC recommended a $100,000 award.

The 2023 event coincided with Hurricane Idalia. Thomas Covington, director of business development for P1, said the organization was “under a lot of pressure” to cancel the race.

Covington said the hurricane “heavily impacted” attendance and asked for an exception. TDC member Chuck Prather, owner of Birchwood Development, said P1 generates a “huge economic impact in downtown St. Petersburg.”

Pinellas County Commission and TDC Chair Kathleen Peters said Covington made a compelling argument. “The fact that there was a hurricane where people were supposed to evacuate – I’m not sure that’s the right reason to penalize them,” she added.

The Powerboat Grand Prix typically receives $150,000. Campbell said 2023’s attendance and a “pretty weak” marketing plan influenced the reduction.

A view of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg’s festival area between the Mahaffey Theater and the Dali Museum. Former Mayor Rick Kriseman told the TDC that Fox will now broadcast the annual event. Photo by Mark Parker.

Much of the discussion also centered around St. Pete BikeFest at the OCC Roadhouse and Museum in Pinellas Park. VSPC recommended a second-tier $50,000 award.

Keith Overton, owner of the OCC Roadhouse, said an independent study found that BikeFest generated 10,512 room nights and had a direct economic impact of $13 million. He said it far exceeds the criteria for the $75,000 requested.

Overton told the TDC that the reduction “makes us wonder whether we should continue forward.” Lowack noted that, like with many applications, a “large discrepancy” existed between an economic impact survey and the OCC’s projected attendance and room night numbers.

In addition, BikeFest’s marketing plan consisted of two local radio campaigns totaling $16,000. VSPC officials stressed that the program’s focus is supporting events with outside media coverage.

The organization recommended 33 of 51 applications for funding. VSPC allocated $1.6 million for 21 events considered elite. Another 12 were “destination enhancements” that will receive awards ranging from $15,000 to $25,000.

That left $135,000 for a second round of destination enhancement funding. However, TDC members unanimously preferred to dedicate most of that to elite events that did not receive the requested amount.

Organizers of the St. Petersburg Powerboat Grand Prix, the Clearwater Offshore Nationals and St. Pete BikeFest now have more time to demonstrate a marketing plan that meets program criteria. The county commission will ultimately approve funding requests in August.

If approved, the three events would each receive an additional $25,000. That would leave VSPC with $35,000 to support destination enhancement programming. Prather noted that Shopapalooza typically receives funding but was not included in fiscal year 2025’s recommendations.

“I am not sure of how many room nights it generates – as I’m not sure how many of these truly generate,” Prather added. “But regardless … it’s a huge event, and it does have a huge economic impact on downtown St. Petersburg.”