Ventura Expected to OK Boat Racing Funds

The Ventura City Council is expected to give final approval tonight to a request for $60,000 in seed funding to bring a nationally sanctioned offshore powerboat race to Ventura Harbor next year.

The City Council tentatively agreed two months ago to provide $60,000 in city funding for the ritzy two-day event. The council’s decision tonight would secure that commitment.

The 1996 Ventura National Offshore Powerboat Race, set for Sept. 28 and 29, is expected to generate tens of thousands of dollars in hotel and sales tax revenue for the city, as well as substantial media exposure.

Between 20,000 and 30,000 people are expected to attend the race, according to research conducted by the special events committee of the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau.

The committee estimates that race attendees typically spend about $100 a day per person. If 30,000 people were to attend, that would generate about $3 million in retail and dining expenditures and about $30,000 in direct sales tax revenue for the city.

Additionally, the committee estimates that lodging expenditures would be $300,000, which in turn would generate $30,000 in bed taxes for the city.

Of the 11 races on the nationally sanctioned offshore powerboat circuit, Ventura’s race would be the only one held on the West Coast in over a decade.