Ogden Downtown Alliance cites record attendance and $millions in local impact, seeks more staff and legal support

Reid Thompson, executive director of the Ogden Downtown Alliance, told the Ogden City Council during a Feb. 10 work session that the Alliance’s 2025 season produced record attendance at signature events and “immense” economic impact while pressing for more staffing and clearer legal guidance as events expand.

Thompson said the Alliance — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that does not collect downtown membership dues or rely on a business improvement district — uses partnerships and sponsorships to run events. He told the council the organization distributed more than $42,000 in SNAP/EBT incentives to low-income households through Farmers Market Ogden and served about 1,165 customers via food-access programming.

Why it matters: Alliance events are a major driver of downtown commerce, Thompson said, but growth is increasing operational strain on a small staff and raising public‑safety and liability questions that the nonprofit cannot unilaterally resolve.

Thompson provided several headline figures from 2025: the Alliance estimates about $5.4 million in economic impact for tracked events referenced earlier in the presentation and described a year‑over‑year increase of roughly $4,000,000 compared with 2024. He also said Farmers Market Ogden logged more than 230,000 attendees for the season (a $12.4 million seasonal impact estimate), the historic 25th Street car show drew about 28,000 attendees (roughly $1.25 million impact), and Harvest Moon attracted more than 35,000 people on a single day.

“Opening weekend we had over 21,000 people — that was a historic record for us,” Thompson said, describing the labor and logistics required to stage those events, from early staff start times to deployment of barricades, tents, porta‑potties and water stations.

Thompson said the Alliance relies heavily on community partners and sponsors including Ogden City, Weber County, Intermountain Health, Weber State University, and Bank of Utah, and cited two Revive and Reside grants that provided $45,000 each (totaling $90,000) to restore properties on 25th Street (the Pearl Billiard Hall and the Windsor Hotel).

He also described how the Alliance tracks visitation with Placer AI in partnership with Visit Ogden, saying roughly 60% of event attendees appear to come from Weber County and about 40% from outside the county; he cautioned that Placer AI is an algorithmic cell‑phone data product and not a person tracker.

Council members asked about business impacts from street closures, dogs at the market, volunteer capacity and survey methodology. Thompson acknowledged mixed business feedback (some businesses report reduced evening sales on event nights while others call those days their top revenue days) and said parking constraints remain the biggest concern for businesses on 25th Street; he suggested the newly opened Wonder Block parking garage may affect future sentiment.

On staffing and volunteers, Thompson said the Alliance has five full‑time staff, two part‑time staff and seasonal hires but that farmers‑market operations often require paid positions and experienced lead volunteers for heavy lifting and safety oversight. He said the Alliance tracked more than 160 volunteers donating over 2,400 hours but needs more lead volunteers and legal counsel to craft event policies that respect First Amendment protections while preserving market culture.

Thompson asked council members for help identifying legal resources and conveyed that he has held multiple recent meetings with Ogden Police, Fire and Cultural Services about public‑safety planning.

What’s next: Thompson said the Alliance is aligning its work with the city’s master plan and will continue quarterly town halls and outreach; he invited council members to recommend legal counsel and other resources to help the nonprofit scale operations safely.