The Scottsbluff City Council has approved another year of funding to help the Valley play host to the U.S.A. Cycling Gravel National Championship.
Earlier this month, Aaron Raines approached the council with a $15,000 request. He said that following 2023’s inaugural event, there should be a lot more fanfare for 2024.
“Last year, it really focused on just getting it off the ground. Last year it was focused on the routes, focused on the operations and that kind of stuff,” explained Raines. “This year, with all that stuff sort of in place, not a lot of it’s changing. We’re more focused on community involvement, you know, bringing in youth, that kind of thing out to the race, just more community involvement.”
These funds would be earmarked for lodging for USA Cycling staff members, but Raines noted that the tax revenue collected from this year’s event will go right back to the city’s coffers.
This year’s race and surrounding festivities will run from September 6th through 8th in Gering.