February 22, 2005

Mr. Mike Wildgen
City Manager

City of Lawrence
P.O.Box 708
Lawrence, KS 66044-3400

Dear Mike,

Please place the attached proposal on the Lawrence City Commission’s agenda.  The proposal already has been approved by Downtown Lawrence Incorporated and has been scrutinized and modified by the Lawrence Public Safety Committee.  We request that the City Commissioners approve closing sections of downtown on May 13, 2005, for the Criterium race.  

A local organizing committee, consisting of KU Cycling, Lawrence Sports Corporation and KLM Marketing, submitted a bid to USA Cycling for the National Collegiate Cycling Association Road National Championships.  The event is a three-day, three-race championship in which an individual national champion for men’s and women’s cycling, as well as a team national champion, will be crowned.  Our efforts were focused on the landing this multi-year event for Lawrence starting in 2006, but much to our surprise, on Dec. 22, 2004, we were offered the event starting in 2005.

Due to the short preparation time, the LOC has been hard at work securing the best racing venues the Lawrence area has to offer.  One of the events is a criterium, a short loop around 1-1.5 miles in length that athletes compete on for about an hour. The local organizing committee hopes the criterium can be held in Downtown Lawrence on Friday, May 13, 2005.  We feel the Mass Street Criterium is the best route in the city.

The three-day event will bring to Lawrence more than 350 athletes from more than 100 schools.  Numerous spectators and team supporters will come to the event, bringing in an estimated $300,000 in overall economic activity to Lawrence over the second weekend of May.  

Thank you for placing our request on the City Commissioners’ agenda.


Bob Sanner
Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau, Director, Conventions & Sports
734 Vermont, Ste. 101
Lawrence, KS 66044
785.865.4490 / 785.865.4400 fax
meetings@visitlawrence.com