CHARLESTON, W.Va. –The USA Pro Road National Championships, that was held in downtown Charleston in May, continues to be a significant economic driver for the city.
Tim Brady
The City of Charleston, for the second time, became host to the cycling event from May 19th through Memorial Day on May 26th.
Charleston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau CEO Tim Brady, who appeared on 580 Live with Dave Allen Tuesday morning, said the eight-day event had an economic impact of $6.9 million dollars.
He says that this was more than 50% than last year which impressed everyone who was involved.
“It shattered all expectations,” Brady said. “Last year it was $4.3, $4.4 million dollars in economic impact and we knew that it would grow this year, it absolutely blew our expectations out of the water.”
He added that there was also an increase of 14% for visitor spending which meant that 13% of spending was of those who live beyond 50 miles or more from the city.
The event also generated a total of $591,000 in local taxes and supported 1,030 jobs.
Brady says that while the city benefited greatly from the cycling events, they were also able to help out local charities.
“We raised money and awareness for Mountaineer Food Bank talking about hunger in our community, we raised money and awareness for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, we raised money for the CAMC Foundation,” he said.
Brady emphasized that this wouldn’t have happened without the support from the city and everyone else who helped make it happen.
“This does not happen without the full support of the City of Charleston, the mayor’s office and literally every department of the city has a hand in Pro Road Nationals each year from parking to streets to sanitation to public works, CDP, Charleston’s Fire Department, literally every city department in some way shape or form touches this event,” he said.
He also added that they had 58 local sponsors of the event, including the title sponsor Spilman Thomas and Battle, CAMC, and Astorg Motors.
Brady mentioned that this goes beyond the economic impact the races bring to the city.
He announced that they are working with the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation to form a pilot program for schools in Kanawha County, starting with Mary C. Snow Elementary School in Charleston.
“Where were going to get bikes into schools and teach kids about bike safety and educate them on cycling and maybe spark some interest and grow kids loves for cycling in our community,” Brady said.
He said the program will help the city maintain its self-designated title of “Bike City USA,” a name adopted in January following the success of the 2024 Pro Road Nationals.
The city will continue to host the races through 2028, and Brady believes that once it concludes, the long-term impacts will be clear.
“What can we do if we all pitch in and grow our volunteer base and everybody is amenable to some road closures, what kind of big things can do here, what are the possibilities and I would say the possibilities are endless, not to be cliche, but I think we’ll look back on this and say this event changed who we are as a city in a very good way,” he said.