“Tourism in the Greenbrier Valley has been significantly impacted by the growth of the state’s largest multi-day family celebration and the hundreds of thousands who have traveled here over the event’s 88 year history. What is even more important to note is that this study focused only on the 9 day event and did not include activities held at the State Fair Event Center throughout the year. The total impact of the fairgrounds facility on the state of West Virginia and the Greenbrier Valley is impressive,” said Kara Dense, Executive Director of the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Key highlights from the study included:

• The economic impact derived from the State Fair equated to the creation of 99 full-year jobs in the accommodations and food service sectors.
• 70% of attendees were from outside of Greenbrier County
• 40% stayed 1 or more nights in the county
• 98% of those surveyed said the event is a great place to learn about agriculture and food.
• 96% of those surveyed felt the fair enhances the quality of life for people living in the region.
• Food, free entertainment and the carnival midway were the top 3 reasons fairgoers listed for attending when asked to choose their main reason for visiting.
• 48% of those survey rated the variety of food and beverages found at the fair as “excellent.”

“We are very pleased with the results of this study and very proud of the impact we are making on our state. Agriculture, education, and family entertainmen have been our core focus and will continue to be in the future,” stated Marlene Pierson-Jolliffe, CEO of the State Fair of West Virginia.

The 2012 State Fair is scheduled August 10-18, 2012 and is themed “Memories that Grow…Year After Year”. Pierson-Jolliffe states,”Local graphic artist Matt Landers has once again brought our theme to life through his wonderful artistic rendering of the fair. Generations of families have attended the State Fair together, with each generation having their own favorite fair memories. These family connections have been the foundation of our success.”

Enigma Research Corporation is an international consulting firm which specializes in measuring the economic impact of special events. Enigma economists developed a customized model which converted expenditures into economic impact, employment created and taxes generated as a result of the event.

The State Fair of West Virginia is a mission based 501 (c) 3 nonprofit corporation focusing on agriculture, education and family entertainment. For more information phone (304)-645-1090 or visit www.statefairofwv.com

City council Monday night was presented with findings of the festival’s economic impact study.

Through the Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s Celebrate Ontario program, Port Colborne received a grant to hire Enigma Research Corp. to conduct the study during this year’s four-day event.

In total, 600 people were surveyed and asked a variety of questions including where they were visiting from, how much they spent, how long they were staying in Port Colborne,and what attractions drew them to the festival.

It was determined that Canal Days brought $2.1 million into the local economy based on non-local visitor spending, Enigma senior partner Michael Harker told councillors.

Local residents, which include people visiting from within 40 kilometres of the lakeside city, spent $4.9 million in relation to the civic holiday weekend event.

That figure is not included in the festival’s economic impact, however, because it’s money that would have been spent locally in Niagara anyway, Harker said.

But Port Colborne, he added, can say that Canal Days created $7 million in “economic activity.”

The $2.1 million in new spending supports the equivalent of 42 full-year jobs, Harker said.

While that does not mean 42 new jobs are created by Canal Days, it does mean if the festival ceased to exist “the economy would not be able to support as many jobs as it does now,” he said.

Harker has attended and conducted studies on hundreds of events across North America. He praised Canal Days for its unique setting and family atmosphere, deeming it a worthwhile event to attend.

The report indicates Canal Days attracted about 158,000 unique attendees this year. With an average 1.9 visits per person, that means about 300,000 visits over the four days, Harker said. One-third of visitors were from outside of Niagara.

Information in the report will be used to help obtain funding from government and granting bodies to support the festival. It will also be used by staff during the strategic planning process for the festival moving forward.

View the 2011 Port Colborne Canal Days Economic Impact Study

Wallenda wants to be the first person in more than a century to walk across the Niagara gorge on a tightrope. The commission seems determined not to let it happen.

The performer was in Niagara Falls Wednesday morning to make his pitch to the commission.

He has already received approval for the tightrope walk from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and he has the support of Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati. But without the blessing of the parks commission and its chairwoman Janice Thomson, the tightrope walk — as Wallenda wants it — can’t happen.

With permission already granted from New York State, Wallenda said the option is there to walk across the American falls in the spring of 2012. But it’s the international crossing over the Horseshoe Falls he really wants.

The Niagara Parks Commission banned stunting over the falls more than a century ago, and hasn’t budged since. After Wallenda’s presentation Wednesday, Thomson said the commission would take it into consideration and make a final decision in the next two to three weeks.

“We can listen to Mr. Wallenda and listen to his proposal, but (the Niagara Parks Act) is the guiding document for us,” said Thomson.

Asked about the suggestion that the decision could be passed over the parks commission to the Ministry of Tourism, Thomson said she doesn’t see that happening.

“I believe strongly that the ministry has appointed commissioners that they have shown great faith in and that they will let us make the decision as we see fit,” Thomson said.

Wallenda’s presentation included new information he hadn’t previously made public — including the exact route he would like to take. While numerous daredevils in the 1800s crossed the gorge on tightropes, they were all done further north. Wallenda wants to be the first person to cross the arch of the Horseshoe Falls.

The two-inch diameter wire would stretch from Table Rock to the visitor’s centre on Goat Island. It would follow roughly the same 312-metre path that John Daly used when he tried to drive a golf ball between the two sites during a publicity stunt in 2005.

Wallenda also used economic impact arguments to put the pressure on the commission.

He commissioned a study by Toronto’s Enigma Research that showed an estimated crowd of 125,000 people would result in more than $20 million in short-term spending. On top of that, an already-confirmed deal with the Discovery Network would allow the skywalk to be viewed live by more than 400 million people around the world, creating a $100 million legacy of future visitors to the area.

“The numbers don’t lie. I wouldn’t want to have to answer to the citizens if I was told that someone was willing to bring in an event that would bring in $120 million. To deny that seems a little bit arrogant and foolish to me,” he said.

But Thomson said she’s not feeling the pressure from the potential benefits of the walk.

“We’re committed to doing the right thing for this area and we feel that sustainable tourism is the future in Niagara — not one-day activities,” she said.

Safety — both for Wallenda and rescue teams who would have to be on scene — has been cited as one of the reasons for the commission’s reluctance to allow stunting, but the performer said Wednesday he would use his own rescue teams and that he has trained for how to deal with emergencies on the wire.

“Worst-case scenario is I would sit down on the wire and hang on. Within 30 seconds I’d be off the wire and carried to safety,” he said. Wallenda went as far as saying he would be willing to wear a harness if that’s what it took to get the green light from the commission.

But Thomson said it goes beyond that.

“For us, it’s the image. It’s not consistent with what we’re supposed to be doing, which is presenting a natural wonder.”

Should the parks commission come back, as expected, with a no to Wallenda’s proposal, he said he will appeal, and will continue fighting “until I get a ‘yes.’”

“This is something that I won’t give up on … boards change, people change, there are appeal processes. But we’ll see what happens. Maybe the numbers were convincing enough for them,” he said. “This is not my first rodeo. I’ve been down this road many times.”

This is a new record for WrestleMania’s economic impact, and a $17 million increase over WrestleMania XXVI. WrestleMania XXVII also generated approximately $7.8 million in local, state and county taxes.

“We are proud to have partnered with an organization that not only helped significantly contribute to the economy of Atlanta, but also gave back to the community in a multitude of ways,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “WrestleMania Week brought tens of thousands of fans from across the world to our great city and furthered Atlanta’s reputation as one of the sports and entertainment capitals of the world. We look forward to the possibility of hosting a future WrestleMania.”

“WWE is thrilled that the city of Atlanta and the great state of Georgia were the recipients of the largest economic windfall to date for WrestleMania,” said John P. Saboor, Senior Vice President of Special Events for WWE. “We would like to thank Mayor Reed and all of the public and private sector partners in Atlanta for embracing WWE and our worldwide fans, and for helping create an exceptional outcome for WrestleMania XXVII.”

A capacity crowd of 71,617 fans from all 50 states and 30 countries attended WWE’s pop culture extravaganza this past April. Key highlights from the study included:

- $62.1 million of direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by
non-locals visiting specifically for WrestleMania XXVII.
- 75% of fans that attended WrestleMania were from outside the Atlanta area, with 61% staying three nights or more.
- The economic impact derived from WrestleMania Week equated to the creation of 621 full-time jobs for the area.
- 52% of fans that attended WrestleMania were between the ages of 20 and 34,
21% were under the age of 20 and 20% were between the ages of 35 and 49.

“WrestleMania XXVII was a tremendous success and provided a positive financial impact on metro Atlanta,” said Dan Corso, Atlanta Sports Council Executive Director. “This is a noteworthy example of our city’s collaborative ability to recruit and successfully host major sporting events, and it hopefully bodes well for securing a future WrestleMania.”

Next year, WrestleMania XXVIII will take place Sunday, April 1 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL. The main event will feature John Cena® taking on The Rock® in an epic encounter. The event will be broadcast on pay-per-view, and viewed in more than 100 countries. Tickets go on sale Saturday, November 5 at 10 AM EST through all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Enigma Research Corporation is an international consulting firm which specializes in measuring the economic impact of special events. Enigma’s economists developed a customized model which converted expenditures into economic impact, employment created and taxes generated as a result of the event.

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 500 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Istanbul and Tokyo.

Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.