frtour1-7, Exercise 3: Should a town bid for a stage finish?

Model answer (check the details):

Likely costs:
- The hosting fee paid to the organisers.
- Road closures and resurfacing, security, stewarding, temporary structures and cleaning.
- Staff time and the disruption to residents and local businesses for a day or more.
- The risk of bad weather or an incident.

Likely benefits:
- Visitors on the day, extra hotel and restaurant spending, and sales for local traders.
- Television coverage that shows the town to a large audience, and publicity afterwards.
- Civic pride and community events, which are hard to price.
- Possible legacy: road improvements, cycling facilities, and interest in the region.

Evidence the council should ask for:
- Independent studies of previous host towns, not just the organisers' figures.
- Hotel occupancy, spending and visitor data for earlier stage towns.
- A full budget, including indirect costs and who pays.
- Local views, including from residents and businesses.
- An estimate of how much of the spending would have occurred anyway.

Care: the benefits are often claimed more strongly than they are measured, and the sources have an interest in a positive result.