After 42 years, Jefferson City will host its last state cross country championships today, at least for awhile.
Beginning next year, the championship will move from Oak Hills Golf Course to its new home at Gans Creek Recreation Area in Columbia.
This year's state cross country championships races will begin at 9 a.m. at Oak Hills Golf Course and will run through the afternoon.
The venue change comes after the Missouri State High School Activities Association announced last year that Jefferson City lost the bid to host the state high school track and cross country championships from 2019-23 to Columbia.
"We're definitely grateful that they've been here for 42 years and everything they've given to Jefferson City," said Austin Rippeto, Jefferson City Convention & Visitors Bureau sports sales manager.
About 7,200 people attended the championship last year, bringing about $377,000 into the Jefferson City community, CVB Executive Director Diane Gillespie said. This estimated amount is based on how much money attendees spent on lodging, entertainment, transportation, food, gas and shopping, among other miscellaneous items.
The competition brought in about $267,000-$300,000 annually in previous years, Gillespie added.
The absence of the state cross country competition during the next five years will leave a significant financial gap in the community, one the CVB is trying to fill. The CVB has been discussing events it could bring in to offset that income, but has not confirmed any citywide events for the first weekend of November, Gillespie and Rippeto said.
"It's always in the conversation of what we can bring in to replace an event like that," Rippeto said. "It's tough to replace a championship-style caliber event but the wheels are always in motion to bring something in, especially to replace something that large."
Because many events are booked a few years in advance, Gillespie added, the CVB may not confirm events for that weekend.
The Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department has partnered with the CVB to host the championships. Tina Werner, parks general recreation and support services director, said the Parks department is always looking for ways to attract new tournaments to The Linc, but is "not directly trying to offset" the state cross country championship with different events.
Jefferson City may still see some money in the community after the championships move to Columbia next year. Since the competition would be about 30 minutes away from Jefferson City, Gillespie said, she hopes some attendees will still stay in Jefferson City and drive to the championships.
"Because the new facility that they're going to be using is kind of halfway between Columbia and Jefferson City, we do believe we will still get those teams that will maybe stay with us and will fill our hotels and eat in our restaurants and spend money in our community," she said. "Even though we're not going to be the host of the event, we do feel like we will still keep some of that business here in Jefferson City."
This is not to say Jefferson City will never again host the state cross country championships. The CVB will monitor the championships over the next five years and decide whether to put another bid in when the rebidding circles back.
For now, though, the CVB wants the championship's last visit in Jefferson City today to be an impactful one.
"We're going to take care of them for 2018 and send them off with pleasant thoughts about Jefferson City and know they had a good experience and that our doors are always open for them to come back," Gillespie said.