Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Becomes Largest Annual Sporting Event in San Diego

Courtesy of Running USA Wire
Economic impact study reveals June race generated more than $54 million for San Diego region

SAN DIEGO - (July 20, 2010) - The 2010 Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon & ½ Marathon to Benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society produced more than $54 million in total economic impact, including $34 million in direct visitor spending, according to a study conducted by the San Diego State University Sports MBA program.

"The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon brings visitors from all over the world to participate in one of the country's most popular running events," said Mayor Jerry Sanders. "Its considerable economic impact is certainly welcome, especially during these challenging economic times. This marathon promotes tourism, national visibility and civic pride in our community. Not only do visitors leave San Diego with great memories of our city, they spend millions of dollars while they are here."

With more than 65% of all participants traveling from outside the region, the June 6th event delivered 41,766 hotel room nights for the San Diego tourism industry. The study also found that 37,463 marathon-related visitors traveled to San Diego from all 50 states and 23 countries throughout race weekend.

"These numbers speak loud and clear to the value of this event and its ability to annually draw tens of thousands of new visitors to the city of San Diego," said Scott Dickey, President of the Competitor Group. "Our goal as an organization was to revitalize the event, attract participation by adding a half marathon distance and greatly increase tourism, all through forging a renewed partnership with the city. The economic impact study not only confirms that we collectively succeeded in our efforts, but that we have a great potential to expand this event far beyond the 30,000 runners that descended upon San Diego in 2010."

In 2010, the Competitor Group's signature event finished at SeaWorld, adjacent to Mission Bay Park, and featured a revamped course that included a stretch inside the San Diego Padres' PETCO Park. For the first time, the race also included a 13.1-mile half-marathon.

The event sold out more than two months in advance with 30,000 registered runners, and the positive economic impact was seen in a variety of areas and industries including:

* Over $3.1M in taxes and other tourism-related fees collected by local governments.
* An indirect and induced impact of $20M, calculated using IMPLAN 3.0.
* Of the 37,463 visitors, each travel party stayed in the region for an average of 3.1 nights.
* The event drew record registration numbers, and despite the addition of a half marathon option, marathon registration prior to the sell-out was tracking higher than previous years.

"The marathon has a different feel than a convention. It draws visitors to all parts of our City," said Joe Terzi, President and CEO of the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau. "It translates into producing not only San Diego's largest annual sporting event, but also a regionally significant event for local participation, tourism, economic impact, national publicity and charitable fundraising."

In addition to record numbers, more than 4,000 runners with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training (TNT) program raised $12M through the event in 2010. Over the thirteen year history of the San Diego event, TNT has raised more than $154.8 million to support blood cancer research and patient services.

The 2011 Dodge Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon is set for Sunday, June 5. For more information, go to: www.san-diego.competitor.com