Municipal council unanimously approved spending $50,000 to host a stage of the Tour of Alberta next summer.
The funding is contingent on support from other members with the Jasper Partnership Initiative, including Tourism Jasper, the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce and Parks Canada. The event is tentatively set for Sept. 1 2017, the Friday before the Labour Day long weekend.
Despite being unanimously approved, there was strong resistance from several businesses in the community, worried that the event could hurt their bottom lines like it did the last time the race was held in Jasper in 2015.
鈥淭he major concerns that we have were the lengthy street closures last year,鈥� said Neil Byatt, co-owner of Jasper Rock & Jade who was speaking on behalf of more than a dozen concerned businesses along Patricia Street and Connaught Drive.
鈥淪peaking personally, as I only can for my business, over the long weekend last year I did less than a third of my average take since the store opened in 1979,鈥� said Byatt, during a council meeting on Dec. 20.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the second busiest weekend of my year.鈥�
In 2015 Jasper National Park hosted two stages of the race over the September long weekend on Sept. 4 and 5, 2015.
Stage three started in Grande Cache and finished with a 17-kilometre hill climb up Miette Road to the hot springs.
Stage four, which is the proposed route for the 2017 event, started in town, followed by a three-lap circuit along the Icefields Parkway before finishing with a 12-km climb to Marmot Basin.
Throughout the entire weekend Patricia Street and Connaught Drive were closed to vehicles, leaving the downtown core devoid of people.
Byatt said other businesses he spoke to also suffered extensive losses while the race was in town in 2015.
Rick Lagace, store manager for TGP, said sales at his store were down between 20 and 30 per cent.
According to Byatt, the businesses aren鈥檛 opposed to supporting the race, but want to be much more involved in planning this time around, especially when it comes to road closures.
鈥淗opefully the organizers can work with us as businesses to help mitigate problems and make it a much more pleasurable experience for everybody.鈥�
Municipal council acknowledged Byatt鈥檚 concerns and said if the race returns in 2017 the local organizing committee would take their concerns into consideration.
鈥淗aving heard from some of our business partners so far all of them I鈥檝e heard from have been favourable, but I do recognize that there were issues last year that need to be addressed and will be addressed,鈥� said Coun. Brian Nesbitt.
Coun. Rico Damota who was initially hesitant about supporting the race said he was now on board.
During the meeting council also heard from several organizations in favour of the race, including Tourism Jasper, the Jasper Hotel Association and the Association for Mountain Parks Protection & Enjoyment (AMPPE).
鈥淭his is a world stage market and Jasper branding opportunity,鈥� said Bernhard Schneider, general manager for Mountain Park Lodges on behalf of Tourism Jasper.
鈥淚t really isn鈥檛 just all about summer, it鈥檚 about year-round visitation to Jasper.鈥�
He credited events like the Tour of Alberta for helping to promote the town and drive tourism.
Council also heard concerns from a letter written by Shelley Koebel, co-owner of Snowdome Coffee Bar.
In her letter she expressed concern about spending $50,000 when it might be better spent in 2018 when Whistlers Campground is closed for renovations, which will reduce the number of campers in town.
Ireland was quick to throw cold water on her argument.
鈥淚t seems to me the closure of the Whistler Campground is a reason not to be thinking about the Tour of Alberta in 2018,鈥� said Ireland.
鈥淚f we take 20 per cent of our available accommodation off our market and we鈥檙e concerned about holding it on a busy weekend in 2017 it鈥檚 going to be worse in 2018 because we鈥檙e without 20 per cent of our available accommodation.鈥�
He also pointed out that Parks Canada in principle has agreed to host it every two years, which coincides with the tour鈥檚 obligation to alternate hosting the race between northern and southern Alberta.
According to data provided by the tour, in 2015 the race generated $9.6 million in direct economic impact, of which $2.2 million was spent in Japer.
The race also reached 47 million viewers in 161 countries and generated a lot of buzz online with 23 million Facebook impressions and 1.4 million website views.
鈥淲hen we can leverage locally $100,000 into multi-million dollars worth of exposure for a community that relies on visitation, busy as we might be I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 an option to turn our backs to it,鈥� said Ireland.
To host the international bike race in 2015 the municipality pitched in $60,000, which was matched by Parks Canada and Tourism Jasper for a total of $180,000.
The total cost to host the event over two days was $250,000 with the remaining $70,000 provided by private sponsors, such as the Jasper Brewing Company, which contributed $10,000 to the event.
According to minutes from a committee meeting on Nov. 22, the Tour of Alberta has indicated this year it will absorb the first $50,000 while Parks Canada will support the race through gifts-in-kind.
According to the Tour of Alberta the rights fees to host a finish line costs $150,000, while it costs $100,000 to host a starting line.
Paul Clarke
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