Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 30, 1993 TAG: 9310300044
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE staff writer
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The increased sales during July and August were enough to convince local officials that Virginia Tech should make a push to host the motor coach convention again.
"I think it's certainly something we need to look at," said Ned Lester, who headed Tech's steering committee for the event. "All the indications we get are that they would like to come back."
Nearly 5,000 recreational vehicles and more than 10,000 visitors from across the country visited Tech's campus Aug. 3-5 for the convention. Motor homes began arriving several weeks before that for pre-convention rallies, so sales for July also got a boost.
Montgomery County tax receipts in July and August of 1993 were up 22.4 percent from last year _ the equivalent of $16.3 million in taxable sales.
"No way am I saying that's all attributable to the convention, but obviously that was a big part of it," said Town Manager Ron Secrist. "Something made our local economy go up."
Only 1 percent of the state's 4.5 percent sales tax is returned to the locality, so the county's receipts increased from $728,000 to $891,000. Hotel- and meals-tax receipts were also up during July and August.
Hotel taxes went up 37 percent, from $41,300 to $57,500, while the meals tax increased 14.5 percent, from $364,000 to $417,000.
FMCA officials had predicted that the convention would generate more than $10 million for the region's economy.
During the convention, some Blacksburg merchants were disappointed because they thought convention-goers spent too much time on Tech's campus and little time in the town.
"It's like a ghost town here," one person said at the time.
Secrist said that he was "was sensitive to business owners upset with their individual results" and that the town will do its best to make a few changes if the convention returns.
FMCA rotates its convention among time zones, so it won't return to the eastern part of the country - possibly Blacksburg - until 1997.
Lester said that Tech would need to submit a proposal within the next six months if it wants to be considered.
In addition to stimulating the local economy, the convention also put money in Tech's pockets _ though it's unclear exactly how much. Lester said
that FMCA paid roughly $250,000 to rent buildings, to pay for hookups, to fix ramps and to rent computers and many other various items.
A lot of that was simply reimbursing the university for its costs, but "obviously some of that was profit," Lester said.
FMCA also spent about $60,000 to pay temporary workers who were employed for the two weeks surrounding the event.
Of course, the convention didn't come without costs:
Blacksburg Finance Director Mary Kemp said the town spent roughly $11,000 on the convention. About half of that was overtime pay for police officers, and the rest mainly was used to promote the event.
Dan Brugh, resident engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said that he spent less than $5,000 to get ready for the event.
It was feared that the huge motor coaches _ ranging in length from 25 to 40 feet - would cause traffic headaches, but it never happened - thanks to a new arrival schedule implemented by FMCA.
There were some inconveniences for locals, Secrist said, but overall the convention was good for the area.
by CNB