As major economic driver in region, cycling club asks for greater local government support 

Cycling club looks for help

Photo: Nelson Cycling Club presentation

Photo from Nelson Cycling Club presentation to Nelson city council, Jan. 20.

Nelson is not keeping up with the Joneses when it comes to supporting its mountain biking community, according to figures released by the Nelson Cycling Club (NCC).

As the manager and principal maintenance for a world-class trail network comprising over 270 kilometres of trails across more than 180 individual trails — including urban facilities such as the Rosemont Bike Park in Nelson — the NCC receives very little local government funding compared to six other mountain biking meccas in the Interior.

Deb MacKillop of the NCC noted at the Jan. 20 Nelson city council meeting that the club is given $20,000 from the Regional District of Central Kootenay for its work as stewards of “a diverse trail network spanning provincial, regional, municipal and private lands.”

But trail maintenance and enhancement costs continue to rise with NCC expenses projected to be over $260,000 in 2026, said MacKillop, while several historic grant programs are no longer available.

“Some of you are mountain bikers, some of you are not. But if you shut your eyes and imagine Nelson without the mountain bike culture and the mountain bike community, it would be a very, very different place,” she said. “And the reason it is the way it is, is because the Nelson Cycling Club has created the trails. Without the trails, the people don't come. And the culture and the spending and all of that doesn't happen.”

She pointed to an economic impact assessment the club conducted to estimate what mountain biking brings into the community, and the report found mountain biking to have at least a $14.5 million contribution to the annual economy in Nelson, including $6.4 million of direct spending.

But the club only received $20,000 of its funding from local government for its efforts, MacKillop said, while, by comparison, Rossland’s mountain bike club received $196,000 from the city and regional district for its work.

There's quite a bit of economic impact out of the NCC’s work, said MacKillop, and that economic impact was not equivalent.

“We don't feel that economic impact is equivalent to the contribution that we receive from local government,” she said. “And we don't feel that it's equivalent to the contribution that is provided to similar clubs, similar activities in our neighbouring communities.

Photo: Submitted

Annual funding of mountain bike clubs by community.

It looks like the city has fallen behind investing in a pretty significant tourism and economic driver in the community, stated Coun. Leslie Payne.

“(A)ccording to this list, we have fallen way behind investing in a significant asset,” she said. “Are we sending it all over to the RDCK or is there something more we can do at this table to remedy that situation?”

City manager Kevin Cormack said the city supported the bike park when it got developed at Rosemont.

“But as far as funding mountain biking, you know, recreation is provided by, through the RDCK, that's our funding mechanism for recreation and parks, other than direct city parks,” he said. “That's why Rosemont's been supported directly by the city. But as far as the … regional assets, the city's a part of that regional tax base and that's the avenue that it has been funded at.”

The city was non-committal with direct funding sources, but Cormack said the city could begin to develop a work plan for better maintenance of the bike park, and he suggested the Columbia Basin Trust’s ReDI grants process as another source of funding.

Although there was some support from council on the idea to revisit and give the club more support, Cormack explained that a decision on recreation funding would have to come from the regional district level, through which the city pays into a service to manage it.

MacKillop said it's not about brick-and-mortar recreation.

“Even 30 years ago, recreation was about a site, and this is where it happened, and now it's more this diverse, trail-based activity for so many people in our community and our tourists,” she said. “We need all those things, but how do we create something that supports this as well when this is such a big part of our our community and our culture?”

Several on council advised of other sources of funding, including through the chamber of commerce, and to approach the Recreation Commission No. 5, of which Nelson is also a member.

Photo: Submitted

Nelson Cycling Club expenses.