Montrose County Commissioners heard a report on the economic impact of the Montrose County Event Center during the last work session for the month of November.
The report given by Dr. Nathan Perry, economics professor at Colorado Mesa University, analyzed the economic impact of the county maintained event center using information from visitor and promoter surveys.
The year-long surveys captured information on spending patterns, satisfaction, and feedback related to events held at the venue. It showed a high satisfaction rating of 9.6 out of 10 from event promoters. During the reporting period, there were a total of 117 equine events and 177 unspecified meeting events as well as many others.
Perry said gathering information on the overall economic impact for the event center was complex using a number of data sources. He said there were over 38 thousand visitors to the center during a year. While only 45 percent of visitors came from outside the region, they carry the economic weight.
Perry noted that the total GDP from the event center for the region is roughly $5.6 million dollars while the overall ‘felt’ economic impact to the community is more like $10.8 million. Total tax impact including county, state and federal taxes is around $1.6 million a year, with the county bringing in about $142,000 annually.
Commissioner Sue Hansen said the survey sample was small and the county hopes to conduct a larger survey in the future. She said Dr. Perry’s economic impact report ‘helps the county justify the cost.’
