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The Tour of Missouri has been canceled after Gov. Jay Nixon and the Division of Tourism decided not to allocate $1 million to the bicycle race.

Disputes over funding for the event has pitted Nixon, a Democrat, against Republican and potential gubernatorial challenger Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who oversees the race.

Last year, the 2009 Tour of Missouri was nearly canceled in July when the Nixon administration proposed cutting $1.5 million in state funding for the event.

This year, Missouri lawmakers approved $1 million with the intent of it going toward the Tour of Missouri sponsorship. But it is up to state tourism officials to decide where the money goes.

Mike Weiss, chairman of Tour of Missouri Inc., called the loss of funding “tragic,” saying that the state took a large step backward on the international cycling stage.

“Losing a world class event that brings an international audience and powerful demographic to our state is tragic — more tragic is that this was a preventable outcome and is as much a victim of economics as it is political positioning,” Weiss said. “We can say that a half million people will not be on-site in towns throughout Missouri to watch this event and that a repeat of $38 million will not be distributed to communities throughout Missouri.”

During the first three years of the Tour of Missouri, the Missouri Division of Tourism provided nearly $4 million to Tour of Missouri Inc. to sponsor the race. Last year, the division’s budget was reduced by $5.4 million but it still provided $1.5 million for the race. The state tourism division's budget is now approximately $10 million less than it was two years ago. Its fiscal 2011 budget is currently $13.4 million.

"Because of that decrease, providing state funds for the race is no longer a viable option," the division of tourism said in a statement. "We must use our limited resources wisely to get the best possible return on investment … For every $1 Missouri invests in marketing tourism, $46.81 is returned in visitor expenditures. If we were to focus only on our advertising dollars, our return on investment would be $85 returned to every $1 invested. With $4 million to invest in marketing our state, we must use those dollars for what we believe will do the most for the state. Investing one quarter of that money into the Tour of Missouri would give us a lower return on investment than we currently receive, which, in these economic times, does not make sound financial sense."

The race has been going on for three years and generated a total economic impact of more than $80 million since its inception, organizers said.

Weiss noted that the $3.5 million event budget is less than 30 percent funded by the Missouri Tourism sponsorship and that most of the corporate and city funding has been tied to the assurance of endemic support from the state.

“I don’t think that there is anything other than a 180 from the governor that could save the race,” he said. “As much as we’d all like a Hail Mary hero sponsor to emerge, we feel that there needs to be state endorsement to anchor the race to our state.”

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