Baltimore City Mayor Sheila Dixon and Under Armour Chief Executive Officer Kevin Plank will stand side by side to fire the starting gun for the Baltimore Marathon — an appropriate pairing, considering the importance of the event to the city and company.
The 8th Annual Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival will bring 17,500 runners Saturday to downtown Baltimore, the most in the festival’s history.
But the event also is expected to generate more income for the Baltimore region than ever, at least $20 million in spending, its organizers said.
“This event over the last eight years has grown 20 percent every year,” Dixon said at a press conference Thursday.
“We could have gone beyond 18,000 people this year, but they wanted to pace it to make sure we can accomplish it.”
This past year’s running festival and marathon generated more than $18 million for the local economy, according to a study conducted by Towson University’s RESI.
Visitors spent nearly $4 million on hotels and food, $2.7 million on shopping and $4.5 million on entertainment, according to the study.
It also will be a banner weekend for Under Armour, which has been the name sponsor of the running festival since 2003. The Baltimore City-based company’s rapid expansion during that time has tracked with the growth of the festival and marathon.
“This is an important event to us from a brand standpoint and an employee standpoint,” said Amy Larkin, senior director of events and sponsorship for Under Armour. “You’re talking about a significant amount of money generated for the city, as well as all the money that’s donated to local charities.”
Under Armour is also the name sponsor of the festival’s main event, the full marathon. But most of its major events also have found sponsorship, including the CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Half-Marathon, United Way 5K and Legg Mason Funds Team Relay.
The festival added five new sponsors: Atlanta Bread, Patient First, Provident Bank, Toyota and XOHM. But Under Armour will be the most visible corporate presence.
“Obviously it’s great to have them as our name sponsor, because they are a smoking-hot company. It’s a good image for us,” said Lee Corrigan, founder of Corrigan Sports Enterprises, the event’s manager.
“I’ve got a little negotiating to do; we’ve got to renew our deal. But obviously they’re very engaged, very into it.”
Under Armour to unveil running shoe
Under Armour will branch its new line of footwear into running shoes, with the first set for a January 2009 release, company executives said Thursday.
“Running footwear is a natural extension of our brand,” said Amy Larkin, senior director of events and sponsorship for Under Armour.
The line will be available at retailers worldwide, she said.
Under Armour debuted three types of cross-trainer shoes in May retailing for between $80 and $100.
Staff Writers Andrew Cannarsa and Sean Welsh contributed to this story.
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