McClarty Hails North-West An All-Round Winner

The two-fold importance of the North West 200 motorcycle races to the north coast economy makes it an all-round winner, according to local MLA David McClarty. He was commenting after Government Minister Angela Smith confirmed that a survey has revealed the event is at least generating £5.6m for the local economy. She was speaking in response to a parliamentary question from Mr. McClarty’s South Antrim UUP colleague, MP David Burnside, who wanted to know what public sector funding and support is being provided to the international event and what assessment had been made of the economic effects locally. Mr. McClarty said that the Minister revealed that to date, £5,800 has been made available by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland through the 2 and 4 Wheel Motorsport Steering Group Ltd. for the North West 200 in 2005. He added: “The Northern Ireland Events Company (NIEC) and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) are presently considering applications for funding for the North West 200 and the NIEC is also considering an application for funding from the Ulster Grand Prix. Both the NIEC and NITB provide support to the organisers in developing these events. “An economic impact study commissioned by NIEC estimated the economic impact of the North West 200 in 2002 to be in the region of £5.6 million and that figure has probably risen in the intervening two years. “It illustrates the huge importance of the event to the region in two respects. As a sporting event it is a roraring success while in terms of benefot to the economy it is phenominal. “The organsisers deserve the praise for taking the race meeting and developing it into a week of events attracting thousands of visitors from all over the world.” Mr. McClarty said that Northern Ireland and the north coast region in particular, takes pole position when it comes to event tourism. “There is now an expertise in this field which is unrivalled elsewhere. We have a dedicated and highly professional group of voluntary organisers who continue to develop and expand sporting and community events which continue to prove popular with the local people and visitors alike. “Their work, assisted by officers and staff of Coleraine Borough Council, is the reason why the north coast area is now regarded as one of the best locations for major events.” In addtition to the North West 200, the region is home to the Northern Ireland Milk Cup international youth football tournament, several major golf events including, from time to time, the British Senior Masters and an international air show.

08 Apr 2005 by Editor 0 comments