With the short-blanket nature of budgeting made even shorter by lost federal funding, borough officials have engaged in cost-cutting conversations as marginal as whether the pool showers can be colder.
But in the middle of all that, the borough assembly unanimously endorsed a $75,000 payment to the Freeride World Tour, a private corporation recently acquired by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, with little public discussion. Since the vote, some community members have said the money could be better spent elsewhere. Proponents argue that, despite the price tag, direct revenue and broad exposure from the event will be an economic boon amidst an anticipated slow tourism year.
The spending originally dates back to last year, when it was first approved, unanimously, by the previous assembly. Funding approval, however, did not turn into a contract and the tour did not come to Haines, which meant the money was still available.
That means the funding is still allocated until June 30, the end of the fiscal year. The recent assembly vote reaffirmed support for signing a contract and dedicating the already -allocated money before that deadline. Fullerton said she would not have approved spending the allocation without the assembly’s support, which will expire if unspent at the end of the year.
A fresh $75,000 has been proposed in Fullerton’s budget for next year, which would fund another year of sponsorship. Because the borough’s sponsorship dollars cover basic operating costs of the event, the sponsorship will almost certainly be a new line item in the budget so long as the tour continues to return.
According to borough officials, the Freeride World Tour has not sent a contract yet to finalize the agreement. Freeride World Tour spokesperson Victor Le Vély did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The positive case for bringing the tour to town stands on two key pointsplanks: a promise of robust direct spending during the event, and effective advertising beyond it. Freeride World Tour sent materials to borough officials estimating that it would generate $416,000 in local spending during the 10 days it will be in town. Those estimates say about 70% of that would come from spending on lodging and food for athletes and staff, and $147,000 on helicopter services that borough tourism manager Reba Hylton said would “ideally be sourced locally.”
That leaves well over $100,000 in somewhat of a miscellaneous category, – which theoretically includes guides, local transport, and “logistics,” according to a proposal to the assembly from the borough’s tourism department.
However, much of this spending falls under the categories the borough is already set to pay for.
According to the tour’s sponsorship request, the borough’s $75,000 would pay for lodging and food for 98 athletes and staff, and about 30% of the Tour’s helicopter costs. That means in a best- case scenario, with the full $416,000 in local spending, almost a fifth would be functionally a direct payment from the borough to local hotels, restaurants, and businesses.
Fullerton said the borough would not have a say in which businesses receive the money.
Forward-looking projections always carry a degree of uncertainty, and receipts from the last time the Tour was in town complicate the picture.
In March of 2017, the last time the Tour was in Haines, sales and lodging tax revenue for the month totaled $191,608. The following March, without the Tour, the borough actually took in more sales and lodging revenue, at $201,749.
Hylton said that this was in part because ofdue to the nature of the sponsorship during that time.
While she said the borough’s sponsorship spending at the time was roughly $75,000, it was mostly made up of in-kind donations and. That means the borough’s share of the spending would not have shown up in sales tax.
Still, that would indicate there was not significant spending beyond the borough’s contribution.
Apart from direct spending in town, supporters have pitched the Tour as a boost for Haines as an adventure tourism destination. The Tour does promote Haines as “the dream stop,” and broadcasts that message to its large viewership and social media following.
Hylton described skiing as a “world-class” feature of Haines.
Though other municipalities in the state and beyond offer heliskiing, Hylton said that exposure for Haines as the top option could bring in travelers who might otherwise have chosen a cheaper, more accessible ski destination.
Hylton said exposure on the tour’s social media and broadcasts was something “you can’t really put a price on,” emphasizing that it would pay dividends far into the future.
The $75,000 sponsorship would be a roughly 50% increase on the borough tourism department’s proposed advertising budget for next year.
Alongside Hylton, Zach Wentzel of the Chilkoot Indian Association also spoke to the assembly to express support for sponsoring the tour.
Wentzel and CIA’s Discover Deishú were involved in bringing the tour back to the borough. Wentzel declined to comment for this story.
Haines would occupy a unique position on the World Tour.
Of the six tour stops set for next year, four will be held at major Western European ski resorts, and one at a ski resort in the nation of Georgia.
All of those stops receive financial support from the resorts and from tourism initiatives of either regional or national governments.
A closer equivalent to Haines is the Golden, British Columbia, tour stop, which Haines will be replacing.
According to the provincial government in British Columbia, it gave $100,000 to directly support that year’s event, as well as a portion of a nearly half-million dollars in tourism funding the province gave Golden. That event also received support from the Kicking Horse ski resort in Golden where it was held.
That leaves Haines as the only stop without any kind of resort or government help: the State of Alaska has not contributed any money, and there will not be a corporate resort to help share the burden.
Former borough tourism director Leslie Ross, who held the position during the Tour’s first Haines tenure, said that Haines has a unique set of costs, especially as the only tour stop without ski-lift access.
Ross said those costs were the reason the tour stopped coming back after 2017. With the benefit of hindsight, Ross said she still thinks the boost to off-season business and increased exposure for Haines was well worth what the borough spent in trade and resources sponsoring it.