Running of the Canowindra International Balloon Challenge in doubt for 2020

In an open letter to the Canowindra community, Adam Barrow from the CCI said the cost of the event last year was $280,000, however the Challenge only brought in $220,000.

"The balloon challenge is predominantly funded by the gate takings at the Night Glow (60 per cent), government grants (20 per cent), camping fees (15 per cent) and local sponsorship (5 per cent)," he wrote.

"One of the key reasons for the shortfall in attendance has been the pricing at the gate. In these times of severe drought, ticket prices of $30 per adult were too steep and are an unnecessary luxury in tough times.

"We understood this but did not expect the impact to be so large."

At the 2019 event, the CCI expected to sell 5500 tickets to the night glow. This figure was reduced on 2018 attendance by approximately 20 per cent to allow for a worst case scenario. However, in 2019 approximately 4000 tickets were sold.

"This is the majority of the gap in income for the event. The remaining shortfall was due to some overruns in night glow costs," Mr Barrow said.

As a result, Mr Barrow said the 2020 is under threat.

"Cabonne [Council] have offered CCI a $50,000 loan to be repaid over five years," he said.

"This is a generous offer and it is one we have considered carefully. This money cannot be used to pay off existing debt.

"At this stage however, the current Committee do not believe starting the 2020 event with a total debt load of $110,000 ($60k from 2019 and $50k from council) is viable.

"The only way we can see the event running for 2020 is with a cash grant which would allow CCI to remove the existing debt, then accept the council loan and proceed with 2020."

Mr Barrow said the committee have been searching for ways to pay off the debt for the past eight months.

"To this end we approached Cabonne Council to ask for increased funding for 2020. Cabonne Council have been a long-time supporter of the event contributing $20,000 every year for the past few years," he said.

"As part of this request to Cabonne we have also indicated that we will be changing the Committee of CCI at the AGM to be held in late January. After 10 years of voluntarily organising this event, Graham and Jan Kerr have decided to step aside from the Board.

"This debt has also made it extremely difficult to attract new committee members as there may be significant financial risk to them personally if the event runs into further financial issues."

With the AGM to be held on January 23 at 6pm at the Canowindra Services Club, Mr Barrow encouraged anyone wanting to put their hand up to help out to reach out to the committee.

"Given we are only 14 weeks from the original proposed dates for 2020, this is well past urgent," he said.

"CCI has an AGM in late January and if there are no solutions in place at that time we will have to wrap up the organisation and will not be running the event in 2020 or into the future."

If you can help the event financially or want to get involved please contact Adam Barrow on 0459 847 846.

Full letter to the Canowindra community:

The future of the Canowindra International Balloon Challenge (CIBC) is looking in doubt after lower than expected spectator numbers than expected last year left the group who organises the event, Canowindra Challenge Incorporated (CCI), with debts of approximately $60,000.

The balloon challenge is predominantly funded by the gate takings at the nightglow (60%), Government Grants (20%), Camping fees (15%) and local sponsorships (5%).

At the 2019 event CCI expected to sell 5500 tickets to attend the Nightglow. This figure was reduced on 2018 attendance by approximately 20% to allow for a worst case scenario. However, in 2019 approx. 4000 tickets were sold. This is the majority of the gap in income for the event. The remaining shortfall was due to some overruns in nightglow costs.

Last year the event cost approximately $280,000, Income was approximately $220,000.

One of the key reasons for the shortfall in attendance has been the pricing at the gate. In these times of severe drought, ticket prices of $30 per adult were too steep and are an unnecessary luxury in tough times. We understood this but did not expect the impact to be so large.

The Balloon Challenge is one of the biggest events in the area and last year the numbers provided to the government show an economic impact of $1.3 million to the region. This is not just in Canowindra or in Cabonne, but is shared through all of the surrounding towns and councils.

The tourism profile of the Canowindra is built on the back of this event. This is the biggest week of the year and the visitor spend is critical for many business and clubs and allows them to remain viable for the rest of the year. The event is also responsible for significant capital works injections including the recent $270,000 power upgrade at the Showgrounds and the $250,000 toilet block upgrade currently underway.

Over the past 8 months the committee of CCI have been working hard to find a way to pay off these debts and to continue to run an event for 2020. To this end we approached Cabonne Council to ask for increased funding for 2020. Cabonne Council have been a long-time supporter of the event contributing $20,000 every year for the past few years. As part of this request to Cabonne we have also indicated that we will be changing the Committee of CCI at the AGM to be held in late January. After 10 years of voluntarily organising this event, Graham and Jan Kerr have decided to step aside from the Board.

Cabonne have offered CCI a $50,000 loan to be repaid over 5 years. This is a generous offer and it is one we have considered carefully. This money cannot be used to pay off existing debt. At this stage however, the current Committee do not believe starting the 2020 event with a total debt load of $110,000 ($60k from 2019 and $50k from council) is viable.

This debt has also made it extremely difficult to attract new committee members as there may be significant financial risk to them personally if the event runs into further financial issues.

The only way we can see the event running for 2020 is with a cash grant which would allow CCI to remove the existing debt, then accept the council loan and proceed with 2020. Given we are only 14 weeks from the original proposed dates for 2020, this is well past urgent. CCI has an AGM in late January and if there are no solutions in place at that time we will have to wrap up the organisation will not be running the event in 2020 or into the future.

If you are in a position to help the event financially or by getting involved please contact Adam Barrow on 0459 847 846.

Canowindra Challenge Incorporated Committee