Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 30, 1993                   TAG: 9310300197
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

DOUGH ROLLED IN ON COACHES MONTGOMERY TAXES SHOW $16.3 MILLION INCREASE IN

Increased sales during July and August were enough to convince local officials that Virginia Tech should make a push to hold the motor coach convention again.

"I think it's certainly something we need to look at," said Ned Lester, who headed Tech's steering committee for the event. "All the indications we get are that they would like to come back."

Nearly 5,000 recreational vehicles and more than 10,000 visitors from across the country visited Tech's campus Aug. 3-5. Motor homes began arriving several weeks before that for preconvention rallies, so sales for July also got a boost.

Montgomery County tax receipts in July and August of 1993 were up 22.4 percent from last year - the equivalent of $16.3 million in taxable sales.

"No way am I saying that's all attributable to the convention, but obviously that was a big part of it," said Town Manager Ron Secrist. "Something made our local economy go up."

About 22 percent of the state's income from the 4.5 percent sales tax is returned to localities, so the county's receipts increased from $728,000 to $891,000.

Hotel-tax and meal-tax receipts also were up during July and August.

Hotel-tax receipts went up 37 percent, from $41,300 to $57,500, while the meal-tax receipts increased 14.5 percent, from $364,000 to $417,000.

Motor-coach association officials had predicted that the convention would generate more than $10 million for the region's economy.

During the convention, some Blacksburg merchants were disappointed because they thought convention-goers spent too much time on Tech's campus instead of in town.

"It's like a ghost town here," one person said at the time.

Secrist said that he "was sensitive to business owners upset with their individual results" and that the town will do its best to make a few changes if the convention returns.

The association rotates its convention among time zones, so it won't return to the Eastern part of the country - possibly Blacksburg - until 1997.

Lester said that Tech would need to submit a proposal within six months if it wants to be considered.

In addition to stimulating the local economy, the convention also put money in Tech's pockets - though it's unclear exactly how much.

Lester said that the association paid roughly $250,000 to rent buildings, pay for hookups, fix ramps and rent computers and other items.

A lot of that was simply reimbursing the university for its costs, but "obviously some of that was profit," Lester said.

The group also spent about $60,000 to pay temporary workers during the two weeks surrounding the event.

Of course, the convention didn't come without costs:

Blacksburg Finance Director Mary Kemp said the town spent roughly $11,000 on the convention. About half of that was overtime pay for police officers, and the rest was used mainly to promote the event.

Dan Brugh, resident engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said the department spent less than $5,000 to get ready for the event.

It was feared that the huge motor coaches - ranging from 25 to 40 feet - would cause traffic headaches, but that never happened thanks to an arrival schedule implemented by the association.

There were some inconveniences for residents, Secrist said, but overall the convention was good for the area.