Spring Break
Bike race brings sales boom downtown
JOE MASON
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: News
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"Twilight is consistently our busiest day of the year because we're located at one of the corners of the race," said Jamie Locher, manager of The Globe bar at the corner of Lumpkin and Clayton streets.
The professional bike race, held downtown after nightfall and illuminated by floodlights, draws 30,000 spectators to Athens, according to its organizers. Other races and activities are scheduled throughout the weekend.
Some business owners and managers say crowds at the three day event bring in more revenue for downtown merchants than any other event throughout the year - including football game days.
The criterium - a race held on a short course with high speeds - cuts a rectangular circuit where spectators line the streets to watch pros reach speeds of 45 mph before making 90-degree turns at the course's corners.
Crashes at these precarious spots sometimes take down dozens of riders, and crowds line the course six people deep in corners such as that near The Globe.
Locher says she's never seen the race because she is always working to handle the high sales volume in the bar.
Bill Frame, general manager of the Porterhouse Grill who also works at the Basil Press, echoed Locher's comments.
The Basil Press always has a good crowd because it's inside the race loop on Lumpkin Street where guests can look out on the race, he said.
Airee Hong, owner of Agora, a vintage shop at 260 W. Clayton St., welcomed the race.
"It effects us tremendously because we get a lot of out-of-town people. We gain a broader clientele," she said.
The race draws a crowd that's more likely to wander town looking to buy Athens related memorabilia such as local or hand-made art, she said.
Those customers are beneficial for Hong's eclectic store on the outskirts of the downtown area because it gets more foot traffic during the race weekend than usual.
Gene Dixon, who owned the now-defunct Dixon's Bicycle Shop on Broad Street, founded the Twilight Criterium in 1980 and now works as the event director.
The race drew 4,000 to 5,000 spectators that first year at a time when downtown shops were closing to move to the mall, and only two restaurants lined the race course, he said.
Downtown looks a lot different now, and 30,000 people attend the race weekend, according to the race Web site.
Dixon and retailers could not provide specific sales increase numbers, but Hong estimated that sales at Agora during the race weekend are 40 percent greater than average.
But the race isn't great for everyone.
"It's a mixed thing for merchants. Some do well. It's the biggest restaurant-bar day downtown. Heery's and Foster's [Jewelers] don't do as well," Dixon said.
Rusty Heery, the owner of Heery's Clothes Closet and Heery's Too, confirmed Dixon's assessment.
"The actual weekend is detrimental to our sales. Hopefully what it does is bring people downtown for a great event," Heery said. "And, hopefully, they come back downtown later."
Heery said this year Dixon tried to improve the situation for daytime retailers by taking steps such as not blocking off traffic along the 100 block of College Avenue until 5 p.m. Saturday.
The race, which has been staged each of the last 27 years, costs about $120,000 to produce, Dixon said.
Much of the funding now comes from hospitality sponsors and people buying VIP passes rather than big title sponsors, Dixon said.
"It's not as driven by cash from sponsors as it used to be," Dixon said.
Dixon is a co-partner in Swagger, a company that organizes about 40 other races a year.
The company owns the equipment necessary to stage those races so it can avoid rental fees which would otherwise add $20,000 to the cost of the race.
The Athens Downtown Development Authority helps offset costs to the city which are associated with the race event, Dixon said.
Such costs include $2,800 in lost revenue from parking that is occupied by race organizers, he said.
Twilight organizers, and organizers of other events that are beneficial to Athens, receive money from the authority to pay for these costs to the city, he said.
The Authority works to revitalize and redevelop Athens' central business district, and its board includes Heery and other retailers, a representative from the local chamber of commerce and Mayor Heidi Davidson, according to its Web site.
Dixon said the chamber of commerce did help produce the event for a couple of years, but it does not do so now.
"Certainly we have a positive impact on the community," he said.
But, while the event may be good for Athens as a whole, Dixon added that he realized the event may not be positive for everyone individually.
While Dixon juggles the demands of financing and logistics for the race, local high schoolers attending prom dances face a different challenge Twilight weekend.
Frame said the race coincides with prom weekend for some teenagers, and they have a hard time getting dinner reservations because of the Twilight crowds.
At The Globe, Locher said the only downside associated with the race she could think of was the extremely high sales volume, but she has scheduled more workers to handle it.
Hong said people looking for public restrooms was the only issue she had experienced with the race weekend.
The crowd is more mature than the crowd at football games so there's not a lot of drunkenness, she said.
The race drew 4,000 to 5,000 spectators that first year at a time when downtown shops were closing to move to the mall, and only two restaurants lined the race course, he said.
Downtown looks a lot different now, and 30,000 people attend the race weekend, according to the race Web site.
Dixon and retailers could not provide specific sales increase numbers, but Hong estimated that sales at Agora during the race weekend are 40 percent greater than average.
But the race isn't great for everyone.
"It's a mixed thing for merchants. Some do well. It's the biggest restaurant-bar day downtown. Heery's and Foster's [Jewelers] don't do as well," Dixon said.
Rusty Heery, the owner of Heery's Clothes Closet and Heery's Too, confirmed Dixon's assessment.
"The actual weekend is detrimental to our sales. Hopefully what it does is bring people downtown for a great event," Heery said. "And, hopefully, they come back downtown later."
Heery said this year Dixon tried to improve the situation for daytime retailers by taking steps such as not blocking off traffic along the 100 block of College Avenue until 5 p.m. Saturday.
The race, which has been staged each of the last 27 years, costs about $120,000 to produce, Dixon said.
Much of the funding now comes from hospitality sponsors and people buying VIP passes rather than big title sponsors, Dixon said.
"It's not as driven by cash from sponsors as it used to be," Dixon said.
Dixon is a co-partner in Swagger, a company that organizes about 40 other races a year.
The company owns the equipment necessary to stage those races so it can avoid rental fees which would otherwise add $20,000 to the cost of the race.
The Athens Downtown Development Authority helps offset costs to the city which are associated with the race event, Dixon said.
Such costs include $2,800 in lost revenue from parking that is occupied by race organizers, he said.
Twilight organizers, and organizers of other events that are beneficial to Athens, receive money from the authority to pay for these costs to the city, he said.
The Authority works to revitalize and redevelop Athens' central business district, and its board includes Heery and other retailers, a representative from the local chamber of commerce and Mayor Heidi Davidson, according to its Web site.
Dixon said the chamber of commerce did help produce the event for a couple of years, but it does not do so now.
"Certainly we have a positive impact on the community," he said.
But, while the event may be good for Athens as a whole, Dixon added that he realized the event may not be positive for everyone individually.
While Dixon juggles the demands of financing and logistics for the race, local high schoolers attending prom dances face a different challenge Twilight weekend.
Frame said the race coincides with prom weekend for some teenagers, and they have a hard time getting dinner reservations because of the Twilight crowds.
At The Globe, Locher said the only downside associated with the race she could think of was the extremely high sales volume, but she has scheduled more workers to handle it.
Hong said people looking for public restrooms was the only issue she had experienced with the race weekend.
The crowd is more mature than the crowd at football games so there's not a lot of drunkenness, she said.
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