Crankworx Rotorua event director Ariki Tibble. Photo / Andrew Warner
A $5.1 million funding boost for Crankworx Rotorua has been labelled a 'game-changer' which will allow the event to build momentum.
The investment, announced this week, is part of a larger $8.1 million package from the Government's Major Events Fund to support the growth of the event until 2027.
Crankworx Rotorua will receive $1m this year, $700,000 next year, $1m in 2024, and $800,000 each year from 2025 to 2027. The South Island Summer Series event will receive $750,000 each year from 2024 to 2027.
The funding will support the delivery of six Crankworx Rotorua mountain bike events and up to 24 Summer Series events, launched in 2021 and hosted across the South Island.
Tak Mutu, who was formerly on the Crankworx Rotorua operational team and is a shareholder of Mountain Bike Events Limited, the nonprofit company that has the rights to run Crankworx Rotorua, said the funding boost was amazing and gave them the confidence to move forward.
"To get long-term funding is the dream really. It helps solidify a plan for a better future.
"It's a game-changer.
"We've been through successive governments with Crankworx and had amazing support from across the political spectrum. That's a testament to the value Crankworx has added not just economically but across the board," Mutu said.
"It's brought together a community of mountain bikers, it's extended the community of mountain bikers, and to have a decent part of funding locked in for the next five years is an exciting prospect."
Crankworx Rotorua has received more than $2.7m of government funding between 2015 and 2021, but this is the longest-term and largest funding to date.
The Major Events Fund provided the event $420,000 in 2015, allocating $270,000 for the 2015 event and $150,000 for 2016.
A second investment of $1,746,000 was approved for 2017 to 2021 to help event organisers secure future hosting rights. This was made up of $465,000 in 2017, $415,000 in 2018, $375,000 in 2019 and $245,500 for both 2021 and 2022.
Last year when Rotorua was awarded the rights for the tour's Grand Finale event, an additional $630,758 from the Major Events Fund was approved, given the increased costs to deliver a larger-scale event.
Mutu expected Crankworx Rotorua 2022 to be "back in full force and literally bigger than we have ever had it before" due to the open borders. It will be held from November 5 to 13.
"We expect it to be bigger than it's ever been, especially with built-up tension all across the world of visitors wanting to get back to New Zealand."
Mutu said the funding would allow them to "think big" and focus not just on running the event but on creating legacy projects like permanent trails.
Crankworx Rotorua event director Ariki Tibble said the funding was a "vote of confidence" in what they had delivered and would deliver, and proved the value of the event and the social, economic, sporting and cultural opportunities it brought.
"The proof of the pudding has been in the eating, so this feels like an opportunity to continue that good work into the future. It gives us a longer-term planning cycle which means we can be strategic and build momentum year to year.
"Last year we had worked hard to secure the rights to deliver a grand final, so it was quite heartbreaking to cleave off our exhibitors, spectators and community a few weeks out from the event. So this is really an opportunity for us to deliver the world tour-level event we always originally envisaged."
Tibble said hosting the tour final meant "all roads lead to Rotorua".
"All storylines culminate here, a year's worth of storylines spanning four different countries... It'll be the first Crankworx world tour event that's been delivered with spectators since 2019, and the world's changed.
"The number of people on bikes now compared to pre-pandemic has just exploded so we think we're going to be bracing ourselves for the World Tour we always wanted to deliver."
Tibble said the Summer Series would encourage riders to stay longer.
"When people make the decision to come to New Zealand, Rotorua is on their bucket list but there's other destinations as well. We think the best foot forward for Rotorua's benefit, as well as New Zealand's, is to really sell the whole road trip. If you're going to come this far you want to enjoy everything New Zealand has to offer."
He said the funding was about a quarter of what they needed, but allowed for long-term planning.
"We've got a long way to go, but this is an amazing start and we're looking forward to working with everyone for the coming weeks, months and now years."
Dave Donaldson, a district councillor and chairman of the Crankworx Rotorua board, said the funding boost was "reassuring".
He said Crankworx Rotorua provided "excellent" community outcomes, both economic and social, and had an international reach.
"We think the event delivers legacy benefits for our community, that's why we're passionate about it as a board."
Donaldson said the funding allowed Crankworx Rotorua to refresh the Skyline trails and venue, including a total rebuild of the slopestyle course.
"We're extremely grateful the Government Major Events Fund and Minister [Stuart] Nash have got in behind the event. Nash made it to our event last year when we couldn't have spectators and I think he got a great appreciation of what it means for Rotorua."
Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash said Crankworx was "one of the most important mountain bike festivals in the world with a huge international following".
"It's great to continue to host it in Rotorua, a city that has a well-deserved reputation as a global mountain biking destination.
"We've held Crankworx events in New Zealand for the past seven years, and they have all been highly successful, attracting international visitors while incentivising the development of and upgrades to mountain bike and event-related infrastructure."
Nash said the cumulative economic impact of the 2015 to 2021 events had been independently assessed at more than $25.9m, excluding the economic benefit of visitors who travel after the event and "the lasting awareness and hype generated for Rotorua".
"As we welcome back our international visitors, it's the perfect time to broaden our commitment to the mountain bike festival."
'We have watched clients pull up and then drive away.'
