The 50th NCHA Futurity, conducted at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth on November 21-December 10, had a record-breaking impact on the North Texas economy, according to an independent study by Grotta Marketing Research.
Participants and spectators at the show in Fort Worth, Texas spent more than $22 million during the event, a 68% increase over the previous year. The money NCHA will be eligible to receive through the Texas Major Events Trust Fund will increase a similar amount, to an estimated $1.4 million.
Special events like the Neiman Marcus Futurity Champions Cup and a major marketing campaign promoting the Futurity’s 50th edition contributed to the big numbers.
“Futurity 50 proved once again that cutting continues to be the world’s most exciting horse sport,” said Jeff Hooper, executive director of the National Cutting Horse Association. “The economic impact for the state of Texas through the participants and fans at Futurity 50 will have direct benefits for future shows through the Texas Major Events Fund.”
The Texas Major Events Trust Fund supports qualifying events through a portion of the state taxes generated by the events. The National Cutting Horse Association has used its share of the fund to increase purses and enhance marketing in order to build the Triple Crown events for the future.
The Grotta Marketing Research study showed that people came from 16 countries and five continents to attend Futurity 50. Forty different states were represented. All together, there were nearly 100,000 visitor days, an average of 5,000 per day.
“After three years of a national recession, the people at Futurity 50 came ready to spend money,” said Dr. Gerald Grotta. “The projected $22,235,356 in expenditures eligible under the Major Events Trust Fund compared to the 2010 show total of $13,198,982. Much of this increase came from purchases of major items such as horse trailers, trucks, barns and saddles, but equally important was the big increase in eligible spectators who came from other states and countries. They generated 18,270 visitor days, compared to 10,767 in 2010, an increase of 41.1%.”
About the study: The company Grotta Marketing Research has an extensive background in marketing research, including economic impact studies for a wide range of clients. He designed and conducted a project for the equestrian industry in Fort Worth during 2002 and 2003 that included intercept interviewing at seven horse shows at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. He also has done economic impact studies for Texas Motor Speedway, the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Fine Line Diversified Investments (the Bass Family), and The Tower, as well as dozens of studies for newspapers and magazines on the relationship between readership and consumer expenditures in local, regional, and national markets. His newspaper research has been audited and certified by the Advertising Research Foundation and his previous economic impact surveys for the National Cutting Horse Association and the American Paint Horse Association have been certified by the State of Texas Comptroller’s Office.
