Nixon considers cutting state money for Tour of Missouri

The Tour of Missouri, a statewide bicycle race scheduled for early September, will be canceled if the state withdraws its support, the managing partner in the company organizing the event said Thursday.

The threat that the state may pull out of its $1.5 million sponsorship commitment would mean that Cape Girardeau would not see some of the world's top cyclists. Many of those cyclists are currently competing in the Tour de France, the race that is the model for the Missouri race.

Chris Aronhalt of Medalist Sports, the Georgia-based marketing firm organizing the race, said that if the state cancels its commitment, there would be no time to find a substitute sponsor.

"It would mean the end of the Tour of Missouri," Aronhalt said.

The state's share of the $3.3 million race budget is in jeopardy because it has become part of the cuts Gov. Jay Nixon demanded of every state department in order to balance the state budget. The Department of Economic Development identified $9.9 million in cuts, including the $1.5 million promised by the Missouri Tourism Commission.

"At the end of the day, there is just no way of getting around the fact that we have a difficult economy," said John Fougere, spokesman for the economic development agency. "The way the state approaches spending in that environment needs to reflect that."

When he signed the budget, Nixon vetoed or withheld $430 million in state spending and ordered the search for additional cuts.

The tour is a pet project of Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican from Cape Girardeau. Nixon, a Democrat, and Kinder are in the middle of political battles in a number of areas, but Nixon's spokesman, Jack Cardetti, said economics, not politics, will decide the issue.

"Missouri government is doing what Missouri families are doing," Cardetti said. "We are having to put off things we want for the things we need. The state departments are recommending cuts across state government. In $10 million from the Department of Economic Development, this was one we recommended."

But Kinder spokesman Gary McElyea said the proposed cut may be about more than just money.

"We hope that politics are not involved, but we fear that may be the case," McElyea said.

In a letter posted on the Tour website, tourofmissouri.com, Kinder asks people to contact Nixon's office to save the tour. McElyea also referred to another website, savethetourofmissouri.blogspot.com, as a place for people to visit and show support for the tour. The Missouri Tourism Commission, which Kinder chairs, will hold a special conference call meeting at 2 p.m. today to discuss the proposed cut.

In addition to the $1.5 million from the Department of Economic Development, the race also receives $500,000 from the Missouri Development Finance Board, McElyea said.

McElyea said canceling the race at this point would expose a number of entities, from the Tour of Missouri organizers to host cities, to legal problems arising from cancellation of contracts for items like vending and hotel rooms.

Some of those obligations include payments to the professional cycling teams that must travel to Missouri to participate. The teams have already arranged travel plans, including airfare and shipment of equipment, Aronhalt said.

The uncertainty could also hurt attendance, Aronhalt said. "We were about to commit to advertise during the Tour de France coverage," he said. "We had produced a bunch of banners. July 15 was the date for release of the routes. It is very difficult to run parallel paths with something this monumental."

Georgia also hosts a bicycle race that was canceled this year due to budget cuts. But the announcement of that decision came six months before the scheduled start, not eight weeks, Aronhalt said.

The Tour of Missouri has already accepted and spent money from other sponsors that would have to be returned, he said.

The contract to host the race for a day requires a commitment of hotel rooms, food and events tied to the race.

Southeast Missouri Hospital and Saint Francis Medical Center each put up $20,000 to sponsor the race locally, said Tracey Glenn of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. None of the money has been spent, she said.

Glenn said a contract between the local group organizing the tour and the Tour of Missouri organization hasn't been signed yet but is under review.

Glenn said the Department of Economic Development proposal has no impact on local preparation for the race unless the funding cut takes effect. "At this point nothing's changed as far as we know," Glenn said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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msanders@semissourian.com

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