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Commissioners waive Horseshoe venue fee to host international rocket engineering competition in June
Summary
Visit Midland requested and received a waiver of the Midland County Horseshoe venue fee for the 18th International Rocket Engineering Competition; organizers expect thousands of out‑of‑town visitors and proposed long‑term partnership.
Midland County commissioners on March 4 voted to waive the Midland County Horseshoe Arena venue rental fee for the 18th International Rocket Engineering Competition, which will hold educational presentations at the Horseshoe June 9–10 and related activities in the area June 9–14.
Jennifer Williams of Visit Midland told the court the competition brings collegiate teams from across the United States and abroad; Visit Midland estimated the event would bring more than 2,400 overnight visitors and about 2,400 room nights to the Midland area. Williams said organizers, the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ASRA), asked for a venue fee waiver and expressed interest in a longer‑term partnership if the event is welcomed in Midland.
Williams noted other host cities have historically had venue fees waived for the event and said the Bush Convention Center also agreed to waive its fees for at least part of the program. Commissioners moved and approved waiving the Horseshoe venue fee; the motion passed by voice vote.
Commissioners and Visit Midland discussed economic estimates presented by Visit Midland, which included an estimated local economic impact of about $2.7 million and a regional impact in the $5–7 million range. Visit Midland said the event is largely run by college‑age teams and volunteer engineers and emphasized welcoming participants to the community.
The court’s action covers the Horseshoe venue rental fee; other event costs and logistics remain the responsibility of the event organizers and Visit Midland.
