Report: Palm Bay Tough Mudder generated $4.7 million

Rick Neale | FLORIDA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Video: Palm Bay Tough Mudder barbed wire challenge The barbed wire challenge at the inaugural Palm Bay Tough Mudder held Nov. 7-8. Video courtesy City of Palm Bay.

PALM BAY — Tough Mudder Central Florida generated more than $4.7 million in economic impact for Space Coast hotels, restaurants, retailers and other establishments last month, race officials say.

The inaugural sports event Nov. 7-8 drew 9,875 out-of-market visitors — including 6,835 participants and 1,634 spectators — to The Compound, an undeveloped swath of southwestern Palm Bay. For comparison's sake, the population of Cape Canaveral is 10,049 residents.

According to Tough Mudder post-race surveys, the 12.5-mile race course generated 3,542 hotel room nights. Palm Bay monthly hotel revenues increased 11.4 percent in November compared with November 2014, Brevard County Tourist Development Council data shows — and Executive Director Eric Garvey attributes that jump to Tough Mudder.

“It wasn’t only Palm Bay hotels that were booked. It was countywide, from all the way to the ocean to inland in Brevard County. A lot of people stayed here," Palm Bay Mayor William Capote said during last week's City Council meeting.

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Capote, who serves on the TDC board of directors, said his goal for next year is to bring 10,000 to 15,000 people to town for Tough Mudder. Three weeks ago, he announced that we will seek re-election in November.

“In the time that I’m here, the thing I want to bring to the city is a hotel with a conference center. And if Tough Mudder didn’t prove that the city of Palm Bay missed out on a lot of revenue, this is the reality," Capote said.

The TDC paid $20,000 to help stage the event and $20,000 for marketing, Garvey said. Last week, the TDC board unanimously voted to enter contract negotiations to bring Tough Mudder back to The Compound next year.

"It is a high-profile event. Tough Mudder's one of the leading brands in the extreme sports-race type of category. It gives us great marketing value, and the direct benefits speak for themselves in terms of economic impact," Garvey said.

He said race officials should decide by Jan. 1 whether to return next year. The Tough Mudder Central Florida contract has annual options through Dec. 31, 2019.

"When you get a staggering figure like $4.7 million in economic development, how do you argue with those results?" City Manager Gregg Lynk said.

Monthly hotel revenues in neighboring Melbourne increased 9.1 percent in November compared with November 2014, according to the TDC. Across Brevard County, the November year-over-year increase was 6.4 percent.

Last month, the Palm Bay City Council appropriated $43,000 for Tough Mudder costs, chiefly $37,500 to clear a parking area across about 29 acres of city-owned land off J.A. Bombardier Boulevard and $2,500 for trash removal.

Tough Mudder paid for a special details of additional police patrols, said Karyn Barber, city spokeswoman. According to a post-event report, the event producers spent $235,860 locally.

"Next year, the city will have minimal to no costs because we've already done the bulk of the work out there," said Andy Anderson, economic development and external affairs director.

Anderson said the city will use the newly cleared property to stage other special events in The Compound. He said he hopes to organize a large concert during the first quarter of 2016, and the city has been approached by high-speed drone racing leagues.

Deputy Mayor Jeff Bailey touted the return on Tough Mudder investment during last week's City Council meeting.

“It’s a start-up. So there’s going to be start-up costs, right? But if we are able to make it bigger, then we will be able to see that return grow. And hopefully, that’ll be a real positive thing,” Bailey said.

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638, rneale@floridatoday.com or follow @RickNeale1 on Twitter

Tough Mudder numbers

78 percent: Participants who had never traveled to Palm Bay

82 percent: Participants who said they would likely return to a 2016 Palm Bay Tough Mudder

More than 162,000: People reached on the Tough Mudder Central Florida Facebook event page

Source: Tough Mudder