Posted: May 27, 2004

Athletics: P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Drums Up $41.4 Million for Arizona

PHOENIX - (May 25, 2004) - The inaugural P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon & Half Marathon held this past Jan. 11 succeeded beyond expectations by contributing $41.4 million to the Maricopa County economy and more than $1 million directly to state coffers, the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) announced Tuesday.

AOT Director Margie A. Emmermann released the results of the marathon economic impact study along with event organizer Elite Racing, Inc., and the mayors of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe. AOT and Elite Racing jointly funded the study, which was carried out by the Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

The race attracted more than 29,000 registered participants, making it the country's largest first-time event ever and enabling it to exceed its projected economic impact of $40 million. The event also generated $1.1 million in tax revenues for the state General Fund, the study found.

Event co-hosts Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe benefited most from runners' expenditures on hotels, food, shopping and other items. More than half the runners were out-of-state visitors, who tend to spend more than residents. The top five origin states were California, Illinois, Colorado, Texas and Wisconsin.

The economic benefits of the race extended statewide, as 17 percent of marathon participants traveled outside of Maricopa County during their stay. Sedona was the most frequently visited community, receiving 54.6 percent of these travelers, followed by Tucson at 24.7 percent. Kingman and the Native American tribal lands each accounted for 19.4 percent, while Flagstaff/Williams captured 15.9 percent.

The average age of participants was 41 and the female/male split was 60/40. Three quarters of the runners were running their first Elite Racing "musical marathon," while the rest had run musical marathons in other states. Of the first-time runners, 93.7 percent said they would attend another marathon in Phoenix.

Tim Murphy, president of Elite Racing, said that cooperative planning helped the event achieve maximum impact. "We worked with AOT and with the cities to determine the date in the wintertime on which Arizona needed the most help in terms of tourism," he said.

Director Emmermann said AOT was proud to support the race and would do so again in 2005."The inaugural marathon was a first-class event and an unqualified team success," she said. "By raising Arizona's profile as a tourism destination and pumping critical dollars into the Valley and communities throughout the state, the event met and exceeded our expectations."

Established in 1975, the Arizona Office of Tourism is charged with enhancing the economy of the state through development and expansion of the tourism industry. AOT works to serve the Arizona travel industry and related businesses, the traveling public and the taxpayers of Arizona.

The 2nd P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon & Half Marathon will take place Jan. 9, 2005. Visit the race website at: www.rnraz.com.