In September 2015, Richmond hosted the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Road Cycling Championships. Based on the number of spectators and spending in the region, the event was a success!
This international sporting event attracted an estimated 645,000 spectators from around the world.
In addition to the spectators, there were 5,284 credentialed participants at Richmond 2015, including athletes and their supporting staff, UCI and Richmond 2015 organizers, race officials and staff, and media representatives and journalists.
An intercept survey we performed during the event found that spending by visitors to Richmond 2015 generated an estimated $138.4 million in economic impact (direct, indirect, and induced) in the Richmond metropolitan statistical area (MSA), and $145.9 million in Virginia.
Combining event organization and visitor spending, the total economic impact of Richmond 2015 was estimated at $161.5 million (direct, indirect, and induced) in the Richmond MSA and $169.8 million in Virginia.
See the full economic impact and survey results here: The Economic Impact of Richmond 2015 in Richmond MSA and Virginia (PDF).