Tourney a potential boost to local economy

Sports is a big money-making business. Players make money, owners make money, and cities make money from hosting sporting events which bring in tourists and additional revenue.

Which is why the city of Ogden, and the Ogden Pickleball Association, is especially excited about the future of hosting a series of nationally-known events on the city’s courts at Mount Ogden Park.

The Dennis Forbes Memorial tournament, along with a coinciding Tournament of Champions, gets under way on Thursday, and the expectations are the tournament will provide a boost to tourist-based revenue streams in the city for the weekend.

Tourism is a large part of Utah’s annual economic production. According to the St. George Area Convention and Tourism Office, Washington County, which hosts events like the St. George Marathon, the Huntsman World Senior Games and an Ironman event, earned nearly $418 million in 2011.

Weber County, according to the Utah Office of Tourism, contributed over $3.5 million in restaurant and hotel taxes in 2012.

Additionally, over 120,000 employees in the state owe their jobs to tourism-related activities.

Thus, holding events can translate into big money for the cities which host them, and the business owners which operate in those cities. Standard Examiner

Lagoon building something 'big'

The skyline at Lagoon is dotted with several high-rise cranes. But park officials say it won’t be until 2014, or perhaps even the 2015 season that something “big” is to arrive.

Lagoon vice president of marketing Dick Andrew declined to reveal any more information about the project for which preliminary construction has begun.

Some of the cranes in the park are also being used to perform standard off-season dissembling and reassembling of rides as part of park maintenance and there are no plans to take any of the rides out of the park.

But what the park will be doing for the 2013 season will be adding two new children’s rides to expand Kiddieland, Andrew said.

For the 2012 season, Lagoon once again topped the 1 million visitor mark, allowing it to have a “pretty level” year compared to other years. But because of the warm autumn Utah experienced last year, Frightmares, its annual Halloween event, did set an attendance best.

The Farmington amusement park, which regularly tops more than 1 million visitors a year, is Davis County’s largest tourist attraction. Standard Examiner

Tourism Plays Big Role in Davis County

There’s no Yellowstone National Park or Grand Canyon in Davis County.

But thousands of tourists still visit the county every year, and they make a substantial contribution to the economy.

Nearly 10,000 people work in jobs that are considered part of the tourism/hospitality industry.

“The Governor’s Office of Tourism said $536 million is spent by travelers in Davis County,” said Barbara Riddle, CEO of the Davis Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

That puts the county in good stead, behind such tourism meccas as Salt Lake County and its Temple Square and ski resorts, or Summit County, home to Park City.

Its 9,688 tourism-related jobs also place the county in fourth place. As a segment of the economy, tourism places fifth in the state, Riddle said.

Tourism-related sales tax revenue is up 7 percent statewide, as well as on the increase in the county, said Nan Anderson, director of the Utah Tourism Industry Coalition, the statewide tourism industry trade organization.


Those taxes come from restaurants, hotels, and also reflect sales tax revenues from such venues as Cherry Hills Resort and Lagoon, as well as ski lift tickets.

More people are also “tacking on” an extra day or two to sight see after a convention, for example

County Clerk/Auditor Steve Rawlings has consistently reported increases in the hotel room, restaurant and car rental tax revenues.

In the fiscal year that ended on June 30, $890 million was generated in state and local tax revenue, statewide, an increase of 5.8 percent, Anderson said.

The transient room tax grew by nearly 30 percent in revenues, while restaurant tax grew almost 6 percent.

There were more than 124,000 tourism-related jobs across the state in 2011, material she provided indicated. Davis Clipper

New Owners’ Updates to Keep Powder Mountain the Same

Powder Mountain’s new owners are young, hip, idealistic, accomplished and confident they have a business model that can preserve the throwback character of the upper Ogden Valley ski resort.

Summit, a company that has brought together young entrepreneurs and innovative thinkers at motivational conferences for several years, announced Monday it was buying the resort from the current ownership group for an undisclosed price.

In a two-phase transition, Summit assumes resort management immediately. The actual sale of Powder Mountain’s property is expected to occur early next year.

"We think we can do something great here," said Summit’s 27-year-old founder and CEO, Elliott Bisnow, noting the new owners have jettisoned previous plans to transform Powder Mountain with close to 4,000 dwelling units.

"Our footprint will be more modest," he added — 500 homes in a horseshoe around a village on the resort’s east side, not visible from Powder Mountain’s main facilities.

"I fell in love with every single thing you heard about the character of Powder Mountain and what it stood for. It was the last undeveloped resort," Bisnow said of his first trip to the upper Ogden Valley ski area in July 2011. "I thought, ‘What if we could take this resort and preserve what it is?’" Salt Lake Tribune

Park City Tells ESPN it is Interested in Hosting Winter X Games

Park City has submitted a letter of interest to ESPN to host the Winter X Games, an early but important
step as the network decides a location for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 events.

Bob Kollar, the director of special events for the Park City Chamber/Bureau, said a letter was submitted
to ESPN by the Friday deadline. ESPN on Dec. 7 is scheduled to name the cities or entities that qualified
to advance to another stage of the process.

The Chamber/Bureau in the last two weeks has held talks with government and resort officials who would
be involved in organizing a Winter X Games. Details have not been discussed publicly.

The Winter X Games have traditionally been held in Aspen, Colo. Park Record

First commercial flight lands in Ogden

It wasn’t the Wright Brothers, but Thursday was a historic day for flight in Ogden.

The first commercial flight into the Ogden-Hinckley Airport touched down shortly after 8 a.m., carrying about 160 passengers, flying to Ogden from Mesa, Ariz.

The first commercial flight out of Ogden, which will head to Mesa, is scheduled to leave the airport about 12:40 p.m.

"This is a game changer for our tourism industry," said Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell.

"Ogden is a world-class recreation destination and we look forward to showcasing it to not only the folks of Mesa, but hopefully some other areas as well."

The airport’s new commercial service is provided by Allegiant Air, a subsidiary of the Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Company, and will now operate two times weekly, on Thursday and Sunday. Standard Examiner

Olympics leave lasting economic impact

A decade ago, Utah became the sports capital of the world during its 16-day run as host of the XIX Olympic Winter Games. The event raised the Beehive State's profile. But it also brought economic impacts that are still being felt throughout the Wasatch front.

Official state estimates of the economic impact showed the Salt Lake Olympics yielded $100 million in profits, $4.8 billion in sales, 35,000 job years of employment and $1.5 billion in earnings for Utah workers during 2002.

Since then, the state's ski and lodging industries have enjoyed record-setting years, with a 42 percent increase in skier visits. Direct expenditures from skiers and snowboarders have increased 67 percent from $704 million in 2002-03 to $1.2 billion in 2010-11.

In addition, numerous national governing bodies for many Olympic sports have relocated to Utah as a result of the Games, including speedskating, bobsled and skeleton, as well as the nordic training facilities. Deseret News

Utah hotel occupancy, rates up slightly

Utah occupancy and average daily room rate for hotels and motels were both up slightly in 2011. According to the Utah edition of the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report, the 2011 occupancy rate was 62.7 percent, up from 59.7 percent in 2010.

The average daily room rate for the year to date was $95.69, compared to $93.29 for 2010. Revenue per daily room rose as well, from $55.70 in 2010 compared to $60.04 for 2011. Salt Lake City recorded the best in 2011, with a 69.6 percent occupancy rate and average daily room rate of $93.65.

.

Ogden occupancy was at 60.7 percent, Cedar City at 53 percent, St. George at 60.1 percent, Logan and Utah County at 58.1 percent, and other Utah cities and towns at 61.2 percent. Salt Lake Tribune

Visitors perk up Weber, Davis county tourism revenues

Tourism tax revenues in Weber and Davis counties are on the rise as the area has become more recognized by travelers and tourists. Weber County experienced a 2.9 percent increase in its tourism tax revenue through Oct. 31. Davis County reports an 8.7 percent overall increase in its tourism tax revenue during the same time period. Tourism tax revenue is generated from a combination of the restaurant tax, transient (hotel) room tax and vehicle lease or car rental tax. Ogden Standard-Examiner

Utah Ski Resorts make infrastructure improvements

The Beehive State’s ski industry continues to add improvements spending millions of dollars in the process.
Association officials estimate that over the last two years there’s has been over a half a billion dollars in infrastructure improvements. All 14 of Utah’s resorts have made some kind of improvement since last season, depending on their budgets.

For example, skiers will see this season:
• Heated seats on The Canyons Orange Bubble chairlift.
• Solitude’s Village now has free Wi-Fi
• Brighton has spent $500,000 on additional snow making equipment.
• Deer Valley has added more snow making guns.
• Snowbird has just completed a major remodel of its Cliff Lodge.
• The Canyons, Powder Mountain, Beaver Mountain Wolf Mountain and Sundance have added more skiable acreage.

Deseret News

Utah hotels show strong August

Hotel occupancy rates statewide increased to 73.9 percent, up 4.4 percent from the previous August. An even greater gain occurred in Salt Lake County, home to nearly half the state’s rooms, with monthly occupancy rising to 80.9 percent. That was up 5.2 percent from the same month a year earlier and 10 percent since August 2009, according to the Denver-based Rocky Mountain Lodging Report. Cedar City and Davis County were the only hotel hubs to register year-over-year declines in occupancy, but both drop-offs were slight. Salt Lake Tribune

In-N-Out Burger not coming to Layton

In-N-Out Burger has decided not to build one of the two northern Utah locations it had been working toward since spring 2010. The popular hamburger chain, based in California, had been planning on locations in Layton and Riverdale. However, last week the company informed Layton officials the location in their city is no longer in the company's plans. Ogden Standard-Examiner

Ogden to host collegiate cycling championships

Ogden has landed two more national sporting events, as USA Cycling has selected the city to play host to the Collegiate Road National Championships in 2012 and 2013. More than 500 competitors from 100 colleges across the country are expected to compete in the races, which will take place May 4-6, 2012, and May 3-5, 2013, on part of the course followed recently in the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. The competition includes a criterion through downtown Ogden. Salt Lake Tribune

Dickey's Barbecue coming to Ogden, Layton

Dickey's Barbecue Pit will open restaurants in three more Utah locations -- Ogden, Layton and Logan. The restaurants feature pit-smoked meats, complimentary ice cream and big yellow cups. Ogden Standard-Examiner

Hilton Garden Inn coming to Ogden

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday on a parched vacant lot at The Junction complex, signifying the start of construction for a $14 million Hilton Garden Inn Hotel. The four-story hotel that will have 120 rooms. Ogden Standard-Examiner

New Burger Chains coming to Weber County

Five Guys Burgers and Fries plans to open around July 4 at 2325 Washington Blvd. in a portion of a building previously occupied by Santa Monica Pizza Company, said Steve Fishburn, the city's business development manager. In addition, Irvine Calif.-based In-N-Out Burger has purchased the former Toys 'R' Us property at 4040 Riverdale Road for the eventual construction of an eatery, said Randy Daily, Riverdale community development administrator. Ogden Standard Examiner

Officials in Layton praise arrival of new hotel

The second Home2 Suites by Hilton celebrated its grand opening Tuesday in Layton. Executives from Home2 Suites and hotel owners Western States Lodging joined several city and Davis County officials to celebrate the opening of Layton's first new hotel in seven years. The hotel will not be the newest one in the city for long. Dixon Pitcher, who is the co-owner of the Best Western in Uintah, said he is building a new hotel just south of the new Home2 Suites.

New restaurant coming to Layton

Wing Nutz, a Utah-based restaurant that offers wings, of course, along with a selection of salads, wraps and quesadillas, is building a new location in Layton. The grand opening is scheduled for May 9. Ogden Standard-Examiner

Layton Hilton opens extended stay

The Home2 Suites by Hilton opened its doors Thursday in Layton as the brand's second property in the country. Geared toward extended stay guests, the Oasis in the Home2 Suites is more like a living room or a coffee shop with a large comfy banquette, tables for working and computer stations. The 107-room, four-story property is located at 803 W. Heritage Park Blvd., across the street from the Hilton Garden Inn. Standard-Examiner

Dew Tour brings economic boost to Weber County

Dew Tour championships this weekend with events at Snowbasin and in downtown Ogden are expected to bring $6 million to the area in addition to $6 million to $8 million in promotional value to the state according to Utah Sports Commission calculations. Roughly 1,500 hotel rooms are expected to be rented in the area for the event. Ogden Standard-Examiner