Mo. Tourism Commission backs bicycle race

By DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press Writer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — State tourism officials and professional bicycling teams reaffirmed their support Friday for the Tour of Missouri in the face of a potential funding cut that could force its cancellation.

Gov. Jay Nixon’s administration has frozen $1.5 million of tourism funding intended for the race and is considering whether to eliminate the money to help balance the state budget. The cross-state race is schedule to run Sept. 7-13.

At a hastily called meeting Friday, members of the Missouri Tourism Commission questioned whether Nixon’s administration has the legal authority to control how the commission spends its money. Commissioners voted to reaffirm their $1.5 million pledge to the race, warning that to back out now could lead to breach-of-contract lawsuits from vendors.

“Should the ax fall on this $1.5 million, it will not — I repeat, it will not — save the state $1.5 million,” said Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who is chairman of the Tourism Commission. “We will be out money in legal settlements.”

The Tour of Missouri is one of only a few highly rated professional bicycle races run outside Europe, matched in the U.S. only by the Amgen Tour of California. Among the scheduled participants is the Astana team for which Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador ride. Team Astana posted a message on its Twitter site directing followers to plea by Kinder to lobby the governor’s office.

“Tour of Missouri needs our help. Keep this great race alive and kicking,” the Team Astana message said.

Danny Van Haute, a two-time Olympic cyclist who directs the San Diego-based Jelly Belly racing team, said the potential funding cut to the Tour of Missouri caught him by surprise.

“We’ve been counting on this race since the beginning of training camp,” he said. “Every U.S. pro team wants to do the Tour of Missouri. It’s high-profile.”

Of the $3.3 million budget for the Tour of Missouri, $1.5 million comes from the state Tourism Division, $500,000 from a state finance board and the rest from corporate and private donors. The race is coordinated by a nonprofit entity, which hired a Georgia firm to run the event. Organizers have said the race would be called off without the Tourism Division money.

Nixon’s budget director, Linda Luebbering, said Friday that the proposed cut remains under review as part of the administration’s plan to slice $3 million from the Tourism Division.

Interim tourism director Bob Smith said the division could save $3 million without affecting the race if it instead reduced tourism advertising and left vacant positions open.

Local government and business leaders in various Missouri cities have been banking on an economic boost from race fans.

Ste. Genevieve, for example, is to host the start of the race’s second stage on Sept. 8. But a full calendar of related events, from summer symphony concerts to community bike rides, has been under way for months, said Ron Armbruster, a St. Genevieve real estate agent who led the effort to lure the race to the historic Mississippi River town. Organizers raised $30,000 from local businesses and hired a part-time employee to oversee the various activities.

“We looked at this as a huge opportunity for our community to gain publicity we otherwise could not afford,” Armbruster said. To cancel it “would be devastating from a morale standpoint as well as a financial standpoint.”

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Associated Press writer Alan Scher Zagier contributed to this report from Columbia, Mo.

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On the Net:

Tour of Missouri: http://www.tourofmissouri.com