Support for local Tour of Missouri bid still unclear

Will the Tour of Missouri be coming to Hannibal next September? The Hannibal City Council will be taking up that question during tonight’s meeting at city hall.
The matter is being brought before the council since it is estimated that the event will cost the city approximately $7,600. Much of that expense would come as a result of employee overtime.
Local organizers want one of the stages to start in Hannibal, which would require a financial commitment locally of approximately $20,000. On Monday afternoon, Terry Sampson, executive director of the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of the local tour group, was not aware of any local financial supporters who had stepped forward and made a commitment.
“I’ve not heard of anything, but again I think part of the problem is we don’t have a local organizing committee chair to push this forward,” he said.
The application deadline is Friday, Dec. 5. If local financial supporters for the event are not found by then, would the local effort seeking to bring the tour to Hannibal die?
“I don’t know that it would kill it,” said Sampson. “I would just be reluctant to move forward very fast or to do much without that commitment. I think there has to be some understanding of where the money is going to come from if we don’t have a commitment to offset the costs for the motels and meals, and maybe help the city defray some of the costs for services they’re going to have to provide. I don’t know that it would be a deal-breaker, but I think it would be difficult.”
Provided the council gives its blessing, if the application process moves forward without a local sponsor, what happens if the necessary local money never materializes?
“I honestly don’t know what would happen if you would submit an application, then they said ‘Yeah,’ and then you didn’t get the money. That’s the part that’s gray to me. I think we’re all working on that together,” said Sampson. “I certainly think it would behoove us to have some idea where some money is coming from before we commit to something like that. That’s my opinion.”