Iditarod Trail Committee 2100 South Knik Goose Bay Road 907.376.5155 (voice) 907.373.6998 (facsimile) www.iditarod.com Dear Members of the Nome City Council, The Iditarod is synonymous with community, perseverance, and ingenuity; channeling centuries of building the bond between canines and humans, to Togo, Fritz, and Balto delivering more than 300,000 units of diphtheria serum to save the children of Nome. When Joe Redington Sr. envisioned the first Iditarod in 1973, he likely also had a vision there would be a 50th running. Joe’s focus was clearly on the historical importance of sled dogs and culture. A visionary, he likely recognized that the Iditarod would pique interest of dog drivers and dog lovers worldwide For 50 years the Iditarod has built a growing, diversified culture that packs a powerful deeply rooted relevance punch. Planning and preparation for the golden anniversary race next year is in full swing. The City of Nome has been a steadfast and vital partner, and the Iditarod continues its commitment that will not only ensure Alaska’s iconic Iditarod will endure but also allow for the leveraging of Iditarod’s brand, and deep trustful community relationships. The fact is that many rural communities in Alaska tune out external initiatives and or authorities. The Iditarod is uniquely positioned to reinforce Nome and its neighboring villagesa collective and culturally relevant voice. Trust is essential, and the Iditarod has a track record of earning trust through communication, and follow through. In 2020, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race persevered and finished the race in Nome during the middle of the first wave of Coronavirus Pandemic in late March. After the race ended, we were greatly impacted by COVID-19, suffering both loss of revenue and increased expenses. Both Nome and the Iditarod incurred deep losses from the lack of tourism sales. That trend continued in 2021. Through funding from municipalities and the Alaska Community Foundation, we were able to continue to persevere by building a new “Gold Core” Loop, and building a campaign that was successful in ensuring that the residents of communities along the trail would not be impacted by COVID 19. Our teams on the ground conducted more than 7,000 rapid molecular tests. We achieved our goal of zero transmission in the communities we traveled through, and we staged a race that encompassed a number of firsts. Again, while other races chose to wait a year, we did not. But, we did miss not being able to finish our race under the burled arch. In order to drive awareness of Nome’s stature as a gateway to Arctic tourism, a beacon of maritime economic development, and a leader in healthy community development, funding assistance from the City of Nome will allow a heightened level of promotion to a greater degree on a year-round basis. We believe an expanded City-Iditarod joint venture in this regard can be the stimulus to increase the influx of tourism-related dollars to invigorate Nome’s economy and ensure Iditarod’s ongoing presence for decades to come. The Iditarod positively impacts the state with an estimated $18M annually. We are a revenue source for each of the 23 communities located in western Alaska working closely with local businesses to purchase food, lodging and other amenities such as the servicing aircraft, snow machines, and other cold weather services, to include the City of Nome. The City of Nome’s estimated economic impact is approximately $1.1Million. While the Iditarod will persevere, the fact is COVID’s impact has exasperated the many challenges facing all Alaskans, including us. The Iditarod is seeking $ 100,000 from the City of Nome to offset projected hard costs for staging the 2022 finish in Nome, with the assurance that we not only enhance the overall economic and social wellbeing of the people of Nome, but also grow awareness of what Nome has to offer through the following proactive initiatives: 1. Immediately start marketing Nome Tourism by Targeting 50th Anniversary of Iditarod (2022) and Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the 1925 Serum Run To Nome The Iditarod has already sold five Ultimate Race Fan packages that include a trip to Nome during the finish. We intend to plug in to the Nome CVB to market other Nome trips in 2022 and include working with Nome’s tourism small business partners to provide added value packages for tourists to take advantage of while in Nome. By cross-linking online websites of the Iditarod and the Nome Chamber of Commerce-operated Nome CVB, and some content modifications, we believe we can reach more people to make Nome their travel destination, not just in March, but year-round Iditarod will produce a promotional segment to air to Race fans around the world. We will provide a digital to the Nome CVB in order to draw more tourist and business demand for Nome. 2. Positively Affect the City of Nome’s Economic Impact Before and During the 2022 Iditarod (The below hard costs will be directly spent in Nome providing direct cash infusion and benefit to Nome’s small businesses) Anticipate 40% increase in 2022 more volunteers/Staff/requiring lodging than 2020 Flights to and from Nome A big revenue period for the Nome’s food and beverage service industry. Iditarod fans will purchase eco-cultural tours included but not limited to crabbing, mushing and snow machining. Logistics for Iditarod Air Force, Trail Breakers, Sweeps, Communications, Finish Coordination Team Vehicle Rentals 3. City of Nome Event Execution Nome Finishers Banquet at the Nome Recreation Center Special events and programs during the Iditarod are revenue sources to offset overall race costs. The Iditarod anticipates a full house of local residents, mushers, and visitors attending the event. With sponsorship of key events, admission ticket costs can be directed to other race expenses. Two long-time sponsors were forced to withdraw as a result of PETA pressures, and we hope the City of Nome can help keep the Finisher’s Banquet a key event drawing participants from all over the world and stay in Nome a couple extra days for an opportunity to meet the greatest athletes on the planet (the sled dogs) and their mushers as they arrive in Nome! On behalf of The Iditarod Nation, we thank you for your partnership and your consideration. Sincerely, Chas St. George, Special Projects Consultant The Iditarod .