Analysis: Cycling World Championship event would lead to $80 million in direct spending

A push to make Portland the host of the 2026 UCI Road Cycling World Championships received some good news last month when an independent analysis showed it could pump $80 million into the regional economy.

That was one of the top findings just released in an analysis performed by Portland-based economic research firm Dean Runyan Associates.

Kevin Hyland, executive director of the nonprofit PDX Cycling Worlds Inc., says that’s a very promising number that is likely to be much higher. “When you factor in all the indirect and induced spending, as well as the spending by the organizing committee, sponsors, the impact of all the ancillary events, and the incremental spending by the locals — it’s safe to assume that overall impact will be somewhere north of $120 million,” he shared in an email to BikePortland on Monday.

The 11-day event would draw participants, officials, sponsors, and spectators from around the world to see cycling’s best athletes compete in time trials (races against the clock) and a mass-start road race. Based on previous UCI Worlds held in the U.S. and Europe, Dean Runyan Associates estimates a total spectator count of 638,000 with 46% of them being local and 54% coming from outside the area.

Here’s more from the analysis:

342,000 visitor days: Projected visitor-days in the region as a result of UCI Champs amount to 342,600. Eighty percent of visitors are expected to spend the night in the Portland metro area.

$80 million in direct spending: Projected direct spending as a result of UCI Champs amounts to $80.1 million. Seventy-one percent of spending originates from overnight visitors, while the remainder comes from day visitors (8%) and teams, officials, and media (21%). Total spending by visiting spectators amounts to about $63 million, with an additional $17 million attributable to racing teams, officials, and media.

$30 million in earnings: Projected earnings as a result of UCI Champs amount to $30.5 million. This number includes earnings that flow to employees, as well as working proprietors.

$5 million in tax revenue: Projected state and local taxes as a result of UCI Champs amount to approximately $5.4 million. Local taxes ($2.7m) include lodging taxes and local levies on sales, such as for auto rental. State taxes ($2.7m) include state fuel taxes and income taxes paid by employees.

Hyland with PDX Cycling Worlds says Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps has officially signed on as a supporter of the event. Commissioner Carmen Rubio and Commissioner Dan Ryan have said positive things about it, Hyland said, but they are not official supporters yet. He’s scheduled to talk with Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty next week and is working on getting an appointment with Mayor Ted Wheeler.

View the full report here or browse it below. Learn more about the event and the grassroots effort to bring it to Portland at PDXCyclingWorlds.com.

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— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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