Amgen Tour Of California Expected To Bring Thousands To Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Tourism officials believe the Amgen Tour of California will bring in 50,000 spectators to the Sacramento area and bring millions to businesses in the city.

It takes a village to craft, coordinate and cranks up the effort ahead of this weekend's Amgen Tour of California. With the race snaking through the streets of Downtown Sacramento and some 50,000 spectators predicted to pack the sidelines, business at restaurants like Firestone Public House is expected to double.

"We're prepared for the high volume, we're prepared for the turn and burn and we're prepared for as many people. We're read. Bring it on is sort of the attitude that we have here," said general manager Marc Nuevo.

So far officials say there are 2,600 contracted room nights for riders, coaches and staff. That's up from just over 2,000 from last year. In all, the event is forecast to bring in an estimated $2.7 million to the local economy.

"When you can bring an event like that into town that not only brings that economic impact but also has the marketing value of a televised event that goes across the world and is seen by millions of people, it's a great branding opportunity for Sacramento," said Mike Testa with the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau.

He says the city had to pay between $150,000 and $200,000 to play host.

"It's certainly a six-figure investment by this community, but the returns when you look at the economic impact of three million dollars of just the amounts we can measure, it's a very good ROI," he said.

Race day starts in Sacramento on Sunday morning, but things really kick off on Friday with an official rider introduction ceremony on the west steps of the Capitol.