Bid to extend Crankworx deal

Crowds watching the Slopestyle competition at the inaugural Crankworx Rotorua in March. Organisers want to keep the festival in the city for many years to come. Photo / File

Organisers of Crankworx Rotorua hope to make the mountain bike festival a permanent fixture in the city's calendar by extending their current contract with the event's Canadian owners.

"Right now, it's a three-year deal. We want it to be a 10-year deal, or longer," Ariki Tibble, event manager for Crankworx Rotorua said last week.

His comments came as he and event director Tak Mutu travelled to Canada to attend Crankworx Whistler, the original incarnation of what has become the world's largest mountain bike festival, which started late last week.

Making the trip to Canada "shows our commitment to the wider [Crankworx] team", said Mr Tibble, and allowed him and Mr Mutu to make a strong case for Rotorua retaining hosting rights.

"If we're not there, what does that say to the Crankworx management?"

The inaugural Crankworx Rotorua ran from March 25 to 29 this year, with further events confirmed for 2016 and 2017.

A report by APR Consultants has estimated Rotorua's economy received a $3.7 million boost during the festival.

A separate 2014 report by the firm predicted that by 2023, mountain biking would be worth between $43 and $68 million annually to the city.

Mr Mutu said the Whistler trip, which will see him and Mr Tibble stay for the full 10-day festival, was also the best opportunity to secure additional sponsorship deals for next year's Rotorua event - and share expertise with their Canadian counterparts.

"[We can also] see what efficiencies we can take from it, and what value we can add to them," Mr Mutu said.

He said the dates for Crankworx Rotorua 2016 would be announced while the pair were in Whistler.

Last month the Rotorua Daily Post reported the first Crankworx Rotorua had made a loss of $89,300, a shortfall that would be covered in the short-term by an underwriting agreement with the Rotorua Lakes Council.

At the time, Mr Mutu said the festival's business plan saw Crankworx Rotorua achieving a budget surplus by 2017, with the possibility of this happening even earlier depending on the availability of grants and commercial sponsorship.

This week the International Mountain Biking Association awarded Rotorua "gold-level ride centre status", marking out the city as one of the six best destinations in the world for the sport.

Crankworx Rotorua

* First held March 2015
* Further events confirmed for 2016 and 2017
* This year attracted 8200 paying spectators
* 1.8 million watched coverage online
* Estimated $3.7m boost to Rotorua's economy during festival
* Dates for Crankworx Rotorua 2016 will be announced during this month's Crankworx Whistler ( August 7-15)