Modesto on track with Amgen Tour of California costs

Modesto expects to recoup its costs of hosting the Stage 2 start of the 2017 Amgen Tour of California, which features some of the world’s top male cyclists, who will compete over 600 miles throughout California over one week in May.

The City Council received an update Tuesday from Laurie Smith, the Community & Economic Development Department business manager. She said the local organizing committee has raised about $32,000 in money and about $59,000 in donated goods and services, for a total of about $91,000 to cover the costs of the Stage 2 start on May 15.

She expects it will cost about $100,000 to host the start and she is confident organizers will raise the full amount.

The council set aside $125,000 for this event in September with the expectation that the community would donate money and goods and services to cover the event’s expenses. Smith said the budget has been refined to about $100,000.

She said more than 600 people have stepped forward to volunteer, which she said is another strong indication of the tour’s support in Modesto. She told the council that some of the big donors include Sutter Health (which is contributing $15,000) and the DoubleTree hotel (which is covering the $12,000 cost for the VIP hospitality tent).

The tour starts May 14 in Sacramento and ends May 20 in Pasadena. The cyclists will not spend the night in Modesto but will be driven in for the Stage 2 start. The cyclists are expected to start at 11:45 a.m. in front of the Gallo Center and make two roughly 1-mile laps through downtown before heading out for the end of the stage in San Jose. The Modesto organizers are planning other events to keep people downtown, including a lifestyle festival and a community fun ride.

Modesto officials have touted the economic benefits of having thousands of people downtown for the start and how being part of the tour portrays the city in a positive light. Thousands of people lined downtown streets from 2008-11 when Modesto was a stop along the tour, and the city raised money and other donations to cover its costs in those years.

But the city was roundly criticized last year when the council set aside $75,000 to cover the costs of providing meals and lodging for the cyclists and their teams in May 2016. The cyclists were in Modesto for the night after finishing a stage in Monterey County and before the start of the next stage in Lodi. They did not race here. Fundraising fell short, and Smith said in an interview that Modesto lost $25,036.

Amgen’s women’s tour is May 11 to May 14 with stops in South Lake Tahoe, Elk Grove and Sacramento.

This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Modesto on track with Amgen Tour of California costs."