$1.9 million impact: Spartan Race, air show, creative minds, bowling and more
It’s shaping up to be another big week for visitation and events in the Columbus area, with more than 28,000 people taking part in some sort of event or activity.
The major draws will be the Thunder in the Valley Air Show Saturday and Sunday, with attendance over the two days expected to be nearly 16,600, the Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau said Tuesday. That’s an economic impact on the area of just over $301,000, it said.
An even larger impact will be generated by the Spartan Race taking place Saturday at Fort Benning in conjunction with this year’s Best Ranger competition. The CVB estimates about 10,000 people will take part in the Fort Benning Spartan Ranger Challenge Sprint, with it pumping nearly $680,000 into the wallets of local hotel operators, restaurants, entertainment and recreation businesses, and retail stores.
There are various categories in which runners will compete in the Spartan Race. “Race with the world’s best soldiers this April,” the event website says. “Join Spartan at the site of the 2017 Best Ranger competition for the 2nd Spartan race, built with the help of the Ranger Battalion.”
(Creative talent flocking to Columbus this week for Creative South)
A couple of other notable events are the Creative South conference, which is expected to draw up to 800 creative thinkers and doers from across the U.S. and four countries, with an impact of more than half a million dollars. Then there’s the Georgia State Bowling Association, which is bringing its Youth Pepsi Tournament here for ages 19 and under, with about 640 people connected to that and an impact of $133,000.
Altogether, the collective impact of the visitor and activity infusion is estimated at about $1.9 million.
Here is a list of events compiled by the CVB, with the estimated impact on the area:
OASIS Ministry
▪ Attendance — 20
▪ Room nights — 54
▪ Economic impact — $8,520
Creative South conference
▪ Attendance — 700 to 800
▪ Room nights — 1,580
▪ Economic impact — $526,675
Best Ranger Competition
▪ Attendance — 120
▪ Room nights — 155
▪ Economic impact — $55,279
Hardaway Larry Gaither Golf Invitation
▪ Attendance — 90
▪ Room nights — 80
▪ Economic impact — $32,568
Macaranas-Baron Wedding
▪ Attendance — 100
▪ Room nights — 40
▪ Economic impact — $14,251
75th Ranger Regiment Association Reunion
▪ Attendance — 71
▪ Room nights — 120
▪ Economic impact — $40,348
Columbus Regional Tennis Association Southern Combo 55 & Over Championship
▪ Attendance — 300
▪ Room nights — 364
▪ Economic impact — $95,260
Georgia State Bowling Association
▪ Attendance — 640
▪ Room nights — 320
▪ Economic impact — $133,266
Spartan Race
▪ Attendance — 10,000
▪ Room nights — 1,000
▪ Economic impact — $667,559
Thunder in the Valley Air Show
▪ Attendance — 16,585
▪ Room nights — 385
▪ Economic impact — $301,588
This story was originally published April 4, 2017 at 1:04 PM with the headline "$1.9 million impact: Spartan Race, air show, creative minds, bowling and more."