Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival Generated Nearly $15 Million for City
Posted Monday, 20 November, 2006
BALTIMORE, Md. - (November 8, 2006) - According to a recent study by RESI, a research and consulting firm located at Towson University, the 2006 Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival generated $14.8 million dollars in revenue for the state of Maryland. This number is up nearly $1.3 million from a year ago due in part to record entry of nearly 12,000 participants. $2.217 million dollars was also collected in state and local taxes. In six years, the event has resulted in $70 million dollars being pumped in the state's economy.
To determine the economic impact, RESI used information from other marathons, the Maryland State Department and Assessment and the Census. RESI assumed that for every Marathon runner, an additional 1.8 guests would accompany the runner. Based upon other marathons, all visitors spend approximately $177.50 per day and stay 2.5 days. Of the $177.5, 21% is spent on hotels, 21% spent on eating, 15% on retail, 18% on transportation and 25% on entertainment.
"The Marathon has proven to have a significant positive impact for City and State Tourism," stated race director Lee Corrigan, president of Corrigan Sports Enterprises. "Since the inception of the event the number of out-of-towners that participate every years has grown from 25% to 40%. Our event has become a national and international event drawing runners from every state in the country and over 24 different countries worldwide. We have been experiencing double digit growth since Under Armour has become our title sponsor. Based on the positive reviews from our runners survey, I would expect another record crowd for 2007."
As a result of this year's running festival, more than $600,000 was generated for local charities. This year, the marathon initiated the Ferris Baker Watts Charity Chaser Program where Chris Dean started last in the race and tried to pass as many people as possible to raise money for the United Way of Central Maryland and Queen Anne's School. Dean finished the race in 3:57:03 and passed 2,086 runners along the way resulting in $6,258 being donating to the two charities.
Some of the other beneficiaries this year were The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Baltimore Reads, Moveable Feast, Special Olympics of Maryland, Parkinson's Foundation Strive, Baltimore Fire Foundation, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, Ronald McDonald House, C.A.S.E. and Health Care for the Homeless, to name a few. Since the inception of the event in 2001, more than $3 million dollars has been raised for charity.
"The Renaissance Hotel has been a proud supporter of the Marathon since day one," commented John Davis, sales manager. "This year, we experienced a sellout over the weekend in large part because of the Marathon. Additionally, the event seems to attract an upscale demo that we strive to showcase our property to. We look forward to being a partner of the Baltimore Marathon again next year."
The seventh annual Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival will take place on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at M&T Bank Stadium. Online registration will open on Friday, December 1, but mailed and faxed applications are currently being accepted. For more information, visit: TheBaltimoreMarathon.com
The Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival is produced by Corrigan Sports Enterprises, a leader in sports promotions in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. region. Founded in 1991, CSE owns and operates the following events: Under Armour Baltimore Marathon, The Charm City Challenge All-Star Basketball Game, The Capital Classic, the Toyota Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, the Thrash & Jam Tour presented by Slammers Ultimate Milk and the annual Baltimore BikeJam event.
For more information on the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon, visit TheBaltimoreMarathon.com or call Gene Brtalik at (410) 605-9381.
i