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Reno-Sparks CVA reports rising visitor numbers, highlights indoor track and USBC events as growth drivers
Summary
The Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority told the City Council that visitor spending and room-night production remain strong, with new events — an indoor Mondo track and expanded United States Bowling Congress events — forecast to bring tens of thousands of room nights and millions in economic impact.
The Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority presented an annual production and marketing update to the Reno City Council on Aug. 13, highlighting a suite of new and returning events that the authority says are boosting hotel occupancy and visitor spending across the region.
RCVA CEO Mike Larrieta and Vice President of Marketing Christina Ernie described steady recovery and growth in visitation metrics after the pandemic, noting that California remains the largest feeder market and that leisure visitors average about 3.2 overnight nights and spend an average of $273 per person per day, according to the authority’s 2024 visitor profile and research partner Future Partners.
Larrieta cited two “signature” initiatives that the authority expects to produce significant room-night growth in the shoulder season. The first is a Mondo indoor track installed at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. The authority opened the facility late in 2024 and reported 8 meets that generated about 12,000 room nights and 5,000 athletes in its first year; staff forecast 22,000 room nights in the second year and continued growth as the event calendar expands.
The second is the continued relationship with the United States Bowling Congress at the National Bowling Stadium. The RCVA reported that the 2026 open championship is expected to generate roughly 90,000–95,000 room nights and economic impacts north of $79 million based on current signups and projections.
Christina Ernie said marketing efforts are research-driven and target older millennials and family travelers; the authority reported a steady average visitor age of 46.8 and said co-op marketing with airlines and partnerships with outdoor brands and stewardship groups such as Leave No Trace have been central to recent campaigns. Ernie said digital reach exceeds 50 million and the authority’s website logged more than 3.5 million sessions last year.
Research director Alex Mullen, of Future Partners, summarized the 2024 visitor and resident sentiment studies. Highlights included: more than half of visitors come from California, downtown Reno is the top visited area in the region, and roughly three in five visitors said their primary reason for visiting was leisure, with gambling and lake activities ranking highest among trip motivations. Visitor satisfaction ratings were strong and the authority said 74% of visitors would recommend the destination and a similar share said they planned to return.
Council members asked about opportunities to grow indoor-sport venues such as pickleball courts and multi-sport flat-field facilities; RCVA said it has prioritized sports and event development funds, has a portfolio of event development programs (including a $1 million allocation for concerts and an event-development fund) and is exploring facility activation and flexible court solutions for larger venues. Several council members encouraged continued partnership on downtown activation and improvements to visitor-facing assets such as the Truckee River corridor.
Ending: Council members praised the RCVA for the work to diversify event demand and for data-driven marketing efforts, and requested follow-ups on specific topics including potential private or public investments to secure indoor sports inventory and activation strategies to further boost downtown visitation.
