Visit Ogden says arts, sports tourism support roughly $356M in annual economic output for Weber County

Sarah Tolliver, a representative of Visit Ogden, told the South Ogden City Council at its Oct. 14 work session that a newly completed Cultivating Creativity study — funded in part through an EDA/ARPA regrant — shows arts and culture generate substantial economic activity across Weber County.

"Arts and culture in Weber County, most importantly, support 2,416 jobs and over $95,000,000 in salaries and wages, as well as generate $356,000,000 in economic output annually," Tolliver said, summarizing the study's principal findings. The report identified 147 arts and culture establishments countywide and estimated creative‑services annual revenue at about $131,000,000 with 726 jobs in that subsector.

The study focused on visitor‑driven impacts and estimated nearly $29,000,000 in annual visitor spending attributable to arts and culture amenities, producing about $7.4 million in combined local and state tax revenues in 2024 (Tolliver said approximately $3.5 million of that was collected locally). Tolliver emphasized that the figures are county‑level and that the study used NAICS codes to define the arts and culture sector.

Tolliver also highlighted youth and amateur sport tournaments as a growing component of Visit Ogden's work. She said the city has hosted Triple Crown and other tournament series, and that Fastpitch World Series alone accounted for nearly $3,000,000 of the tournaments' economic contribution. "Over $5,000,000 in total economic impact from those events," she said, while adding that some of the tournament agreements have been extended — including a 10‑year contract with one organizer — to secure recurring visitation.

Councilmembers asked whether the study recommended specific policy changes; Tolliver replied the study prioritized visitor impacts and did not include detailed policy prescriptions. She and others recommended updating Ogden's arts master plan to translate the findings into policies and investments and suggested conducting resident sentiment surveys to clarify local priorities for arts, events and public amenities.

The presentation also noted community benefits from tournament hosting: local high‑school teams received free entry when their fields were used, high‑school teams could retain concession revenues, tournament partners invested in field infrastructure (new fencing, bases, bleachers, lights), and teams contributed $1,000 each this year to a Weber Sustainability Fund to support field maintenance and enhancements.

Tolliver said the full Cultivating Creativity report and the NAICS code appendix are available on Visit Ogden’s website for council review.

Next steps: council members indicated support for using the study to inform an updated arts master plan and to explore resident surveys. No formal policy actions were taken at the work session.