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The Scottsdale City Council approved on consent a maximum of $37,500 toward retaining and developing the International Off-Road and UTV event.
The agreement, which council approved at its Nov. 12 meeting, is in time for the International Off-Road Expo taking place at Westworld of Scottsdale on Dec. 6-8.
City staff project an attendance of 12,000 people for the event. This continues an increasing trend of attendance with 8,400 in 2017 and 9,100 in 2018.
The agreement authorizes no more than $37,500 from the portion of the Fiscal Year 2019-20 Tourism Development Fund allocated for the event’s producer, the Company of the Americas, Inc.
The International Off-Road Expo, held in Scottsdale for the fifth year, “caters to high-end, off-road enthusiasts,” according to a city staff report to council.
On Oct. 15, the Tourism Development Commission recommended that City Council allocate the $37,500 in support of the one-year agreement, using funds established for events and event development.
The producer proposed allocating $80,000 in direct advertising expenditures toward a local and regional multi-layered media campaign.
The projected total event budget is $200,000 for the International Off-Road Expo that the producer requested a one-year event development agreement with the city.
The proposal identified benefits for the city and the local tourism industry along with noting a public purpose for the city’s expenditure, according to the report.
City staff concluded that the marketing and promotional benefits are “substantially equal to the proposed city’s expenditure.”
In 2017, the event participated in the new event funding program, receiving $70,000 in event funding. And, in 2018, the event received $54,000.
This is the third and final year the expo will be eligible to receive new event development funds, according to the report.
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