SUPERJET-113
GASKETS FOR CHAMP BRAP!
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ USA
IJSBA, CITY WORKING TO KEEP WORLD FINALS HERE
By BRIAN DiTULLIO
Friday, April 14, 2006 11:20 PM MDT
There still is hope the World Finals will stay in Lake Havasu City, according to an International Jet Ski Boating Association official.
Despite a City Council vote going against the organization, IJSBA Managing Director Scott Frazier said he still is working with City Manager Richard Kaffenberger on finding a local venue to hold the competition.
“We need to figure out how we can get this to still work,†said Frazier on Friday. “My fight was not getting to Rotary Park, that was just a tool.â€
By a 5-1 vote with Mayor Harvey Jackson dissenting, City Council rejected a proposal from the IJSBA on Tuesday to have this year's World Finals at Rotary Park, citing logistical difficulties in having the event there.
City staff and City Council members said during and after the meeting that they still support the event, but don't think Rotary Park is the proper place to hold the races.
The event has been held at Crazy Horse Campground the last few years, and Frazier said the event had been losing money and that there were problems with the venue. Some of the event's sponsors wished for some “aesthetic upgrades†to the area, specifically.
Frazier said he believed those problems could be worked out, as well as some confusion over how much bed tax revenue the city receives from the event.
“We paid more than $20,000 for the venue,†said Frazier. “The event pays the bed tax on the spots rented from Crazy Horse. Further, we pay bed tax on our houses that we rent. These were the points made.â€
Exact numbers were not available on Friday due to the government holiday.
Dan Cunning, president of the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, said on Tuesday his board believed that they weren't getting the kind of return they used to and that the event isn't drawing the way it once did. Therefore, they only were allocating $12,000 toward the event this year. The board paid $25,000 for the event last year.
Frazier said Cunning's interpretation of the numbers was wrong and cited the numbers above, explaining that bed taxes were being paid on house rentals.
“I don't know anyone who is renting who is not paying the bed tax,†said Frazier.
As for the event's drawing power, Frazier said his estimates showed more than 700 racers at the event last year and that each racer probably brought around four people with them.
“That's not even getting to our racers from Japan and Taiwan and those areas,†said Frazier. “Some of those racers bring entire entourages with them.â€
For this year, Frazier requested $35,000 from the city for the event plus an additional $5,000 to run a food festival.
While Frazier's proposal included several benefits to the city, including the cost of pulling the necessary permits, a cut of parking fees, a three-year contract for the event, a two-year right of first refusal to meet other offers, promotional considerations and $20,000 in scaffold renting, City Council felt the costs and responsibilities involved were not equal to the offer and rejected it.
There still is no clear answer to the question of where the World Finals are going to be held, but Frazier reiterated his commitment that he would do everything he could to keep the event in Lake Havasu City and not go elsewhere.
The World Finals did almost pull out of Lake Havasu City in the late 1990s, but a last-minute deal kept the event local.
By BRIAN DiTULLIO
Friday, April 14, 2006 11:20 PM MDT
There still is hope the World Finals will stay in Lake Havasu City, according to an International Jet Ski Boating Association official.
Despite a City Council vote going against the organization, IJSBA Managing Director Scott Frazier said he still is working with City Manager Richard Kaffenberger on finding a local venue to hold the competition.
“We need to figure out how we can get this to still work,†said Frazier on Friday. “My fight was not getting to Rotary Park, that was just a tool.â€
By a 5-1 vote with Mayor Harvey Jackson dissenting, City Council rejected a proposal from the IJSBA on Tuesday to have this year's World Finals at Rotary Park, citing logistical difficulties in having the event there.
City staff and City Council members said during and after the meeting that they still support the event, but don't think Rotary Park is the proper place to hold the races.
The event has been held at Crazy Horse Campground the last few years, and Frazier said the event had been losing money and that there were problems with the venue. Some of the event's sponsors wished for some “aesthetic upgrades†to the area, specifically.
Frazier said he believed those problems could be worked out, as well as some confusion over how much bed tax revenue the city receives from the event.
“We paid more than $20,000 for the venue,†said Frazier. “The event pays the bed tax on the spots rented from Crazy Horse. Further, we pay bed tax on our houses that we rent. These were the points made.â€
Exact numbers were not available on Friday due to the government holiday.
Dan Cunning, president of the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, said on Tuesday his board believed that they weren't getting the kind of return they used to and that the event isn't drawing the way it once did. Therefore, they only were allocating $12,000 toward the event this year. The board paid $25,000 for the event last year.
Frazier said Cunning's interpretation of the numbers was wrong and cited the numbers above, explaining that bed taxes were being paid on house rentals.
“I don't know anyone who is renting who is not paying the bed tax,†said Frazier.
As for the event's drawing power, Frazier said his estimates showed more than 700 racers at the event last year and that each racer probably brought around four people with them.
“That's not even getting to our racers from Japan and Taiwan and those areas,†said Frazier. “Some of those racers bring entire entourages with them.â€
For this year, Frazier requested $35,000 from the city for the event plus an additional $5,000 to run a food festival.
While Frazier's proposal included several benefits to the city, including the cost of pulling the necessary permits, a cut of parking fees, a three-year contract for the event, a two-year right of first refusal to meet other offers, promotional considerations and $20,000 in scaffold renting, City Council felt the costs and responsibilities involved were not equal to the offer and rejected it.
There still is no clear answer to the question of where the World Finals are going to be held, but Frazier reiterated his commitment that he would do everything he could to keep the event in Lake Havasu City and not go elsewhere.
The World Finals did almost pull out of Lake Havasu City in the late 1990s, but a last-minute deal kept the event local.