appsyscons
04-04-2013, 11:28 AM
SARASOTA - Suncoast Foundation for Children officials will decide in about a week whether to pull the plug on the Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix this summer.
The board of the foundation, which puts on the boat race annually, must decide by April 11 if the Fourth of July holiday event will occur in Sarasota this year.
Charity officials say a lack of funding — $90,000 specifically — is threatening to cancel the race, which has brought high-speed boats and big crowds to Sarasota beaches for almost 30 years.
“The charity took on the responsibility to raise the money needed for the fireworks show this year and they are struggling to come up with the rest of the money needed to support the race,” said Dana Gourley, a Sarasota resident and member of a local powerboat racing team, Reds Offshore Racing.
“I feel like there is no better use of our tourism bed tax than for it to go toward an event that has been here for years and always helped support the Sarasota area,” Gourley said. “That money should go to the residents who live here.”
In March, the county offered $28,500 to help cover the costs of the event, but race officials say that is not enough. The charity also qualifies for a $15,000 grant from Visit Sarasota County, the county's tourism agency, which has been approved, said Virginia Haley, the agency's president.
But race officials contend that additional county tourism tax should be devoted to the event.
“To give them more funding than what we've already supplied would just open up the floodgates,” Haley said. “The boat race isn't the only sports group that comes to us looking for funding every year. The grant we've already given them is nearly 10 percent of our entire sports budget.”
Although the event does bring thousands to the area each summer, hoteliers would be able to fill rooms for the Fourth of July weekend with or without the boat race, Haley said.
“Different hotels in the area have written to the (County) Commission saying that are busy that weekend no matter what,” she said. “It's hard for us to tell what kind economic impact there is with or without the boat race since it always falls around that holiday weekend.”
The charity has struggled to find the financial support in recent years. Last year, it made $57,000 on the event, as compared to its 15-year average of $90,000, said Lucy Nicandri, festival director.
“I think all of the small businesses that once gave to the charity are having a hard time finding the extra marketing money this year,” Gourley said.
Past sponsors may not be providing the same level of support this year, though Gold Coast Eagle Distributing intends to provide $35,000 in cash, goods and advertising, as it has in previous years.
To raise revenue, race officials are considering charging entry fees to the festival's Main Street parade and nighttime fireworks display, which have previously been free of charge.
Any entry fee would have to be approved by the city commission, however.
If the boat race does not find additional funding, it might move to neighboring Charlotte County, which is hoping to host its own powerboat race beginning in 2014, said Lorah Steiner, that county's tourism director.
“The important thing to note is, this is not in lieu of the Sarasota race,” she said. “It would be planned so the dates do not clash.”
The county would spend $10,000 on the race and set up a $250,000 reserve to help get initial years off the ground, so sponsors can be found.
The board of the foundation, which puts on the boat race annually, must decide by April 11 if the Fourth of July holiday event will occur in Sarasota this year.
Charity officials say a lack of funding — $90,000 specifically — is threatening to cancel the race, which has brought high-speed boats and big crowds to Sarasota beaches for almost 30 years.
“The charity took on the responsibility to raise the money needed for the fireworks show this year and they are struggling to come up with the rest of the money needed to support the race,” said Dana Gourley, a Sarasota resident and member of a local powerboat racing team, Reds Offshore Racing.
“I feel like there is no better use of our tourism bed tax than for it to go toward an event that has been here for years and always helped support the Sarasota area,” Gourley said. “That money should go to the residents who live here.”
In March, the county offered $28,500 to help cover the costs of the event, but race officials say that is not enough. The charity also qualifies for a $15,000 grant from Visit Sarasota County, the county's tourism agency, which has been approved, said Virginia Haley, the agency's president.
But race officials contend that additional county tourism tax should be devoted to the event.
“To give them more funding than what we've already supplied would just open up the floodgates,” Haley said. “The boat race isn't the only sports group that comes to us looking for funding every year. The grant we've already given them is nearly 10 percent of our entire sports budget.”
Although the event does bring thousands to the area each summer, hoteliers would be able to fill rooms for the Fourth of July weekend with or without the boat race, Haley said.
“Different hotels in the area have written to the (County) Commission saying that are busy that weekend no matter what,” she said. “It's hard for us to tell what kind economic impact there is with or without the boat race since it always falls around that holiday weekend.”
The charity has struggled to find the financial support in recent years. Last year, it made $57,000 on the event, as compared to its 15-year average of $90,000, said Lucy Nicandri, festival director.
“I think all of the small businesses that once gave to the charity are having a hard time finding the extra marketing money this year,” Gourley said.
Past sponsors may not be providing the same level of support this year, though Gold Coast Eagle Distributing intends to provide $35,000 in cash, goods and advertising, as it has in previous years.
To raise revenue, race officials are considering charging entry fees to the festival's Main Street parade and nighttime fireworks display, which have previously been free of charge.
Any entry fee would have to be approved by the city commission, however.
If the boat race does not find additional funding, it might move to neighboring Charlotte County, which is hoping to host its own powerboat race beginning in 2014, said Lorah Steiner, that county's tourism director.
“The important thing to note is, this is not in lieu of the Sarasota race,” she said. “It would be planned so the dates do not clash.”
The county would spend $10,000 on the race and set up a $250,000 reserve to help get initial years off the ground, so sponsors can be found.