BENTONVILLE -- The Advertising and Promotions Committee dolled out $29,000 for five events to encourage tourism in the city during its meeting Tuesday.
Four of those events will be later this year. The National Guard Association of Arkansas received $10,000, the most requested, to assist with its conference in Bentonville in 2017. The money will come out of the 2017 budget, Chris Sooter, chairman, said.
Tourism promotion
The Bentonville Advertising and Promotions Commission grants money three times a year to events that show promise of bringing tourism dollars to the city. It hears money requests in March, July and October. The money comes from a 2 percent tax on hotel and motel rooms and a 1 percent tax on restaurants and prepared food.
Source: Staff Report
Conference organizers said they are also looking at Little Rock, Springdale, Hot Springs and Rogers to hold the event, according to their funding request application. The decision will be made during the group's October board meeting.
The money wouldn't be allocated if the event isn't held in Bentonville, said Kalene Griffith, Visit Bentonville president and CEO.
Elevate NWA was given $9,500 for a three-day family and fitness event benefiting Guardian for Heroes. The group is a national charity founded by Chris Kyle, the Navy SEAL featured in American Sniper.
The event be over Labor Day weekend and include a concert Friday night, a CrossFit competition Saturday and a Freedom, Family and Fitness Festival at Bentonville High School, according to the funding request. The money would be used for marketing and venue costs.
This year's event will be larger than last year's event, Rob Davis, organizer, told commissioners. There will adaptive athletes who will compete with CrossFit athletes as teammates for some events this year. Davis said an adaptive athlete is a permanently injured veteran.
"At this point we're starting to get some traction regionally and potentially nationally because of what we're doing with this because it hasn't been done before," he said.
The event is anticipated to draw about 2,000 people, according to the application.
The World Championship Squirrel Cook Off asked for and was given $5,000. This will be the event's fourth year and its third to receive money.
"We've progressively grown every year," Joe Wilson, event director, said.
There were teams from 13 states last year, and many people stay a week, he said.
There will be a wild game dinner the night before the cook off to raise money for next year's competition, Wilson said. The cook off will be held Sept. 12.
The event's been recently featured in Garden and Guns magazine and listed as one of USA Today's top 10 culinary events, Wilson said.
It's received national media attention, and it's all be positive, Blair Cromwell, Visit Bentonville vice president of communications, said.
Last year's cook off was estimated to have had a $150,000 advertising value and economic impact, according to meeting documents.
That number is probably conservative as some of the publicity it received is difficult to place a value on, Cromwell said.
Commissioners also approved $2,500 for Bentonville High School to host the state tennis championship and $2,000 for the NWA Polo Club to host a women's polo challenge in September.
The commission budgets $100,000 per year for funding requests. It has $7,420 remaining after Tuesday's meeting. It will hear requests for the last time this year in October. Most of those applicants will be asking for money for 2016 events, Griffith said.
NW News on 07/29/2015