Rotary Seeking Tax Dollars for 2007 Convention

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) The International Rotary Convention slated for Salt Lake City next summer is expected to bring record numbers of visitors to Utah. But organizers are also taking an unconventional approach to fundraising - hoping to tap city, county and state taxpayer dollars to put the event on.

"If we do nothing, we'll get maybe 12 to 15,000 people to show up, but with the proper exposure we can get as high as 25,000 people," says Rotary Host Committee member Shaun Michel.

Tonight the Salt Lake City Council will consider the Rotary's request for $50,000 to cover expenses and help with marketing for the convention. Such a request is highly unusual, according to the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Rotary has already received $168,000 in state tourism money to market the event. Michel says convention organizers need taxpayer money because they're working on a short timeline, since the 2007 meeting was supposed to be in New Orleans, but hurricane damage bumped it to Utah.

"So we're trying to host the world here similar to the Olympics in less than a year," says Michel.

The Rotary Host Committee has also asked Salt Lake County for money. Michel says it will cost about $2 million to put on the convention, though some of that money will come from registration fees.

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