Rainy conditions deflated the hot air balloons and attendance at last year\u2019s Ohio Challenge. But as the hot air balloon and skydiving festival lifts off for its 11th year on Friday, organizers are anticipating clearer skies and larger crowds.<\/p>\n
The Ohio Challenge typically attracts more than 40,000 people to Middletown, but with rain preventing most the balloon flights, last year\u2019s attendance dipped to around 35,000. Smaller crowds resulted in smaller economic impact to the city of about $2 million. The Ohio Challenge typically brings in double that amount, according to organizers.<\/p>\n
The National Weather Service\u2019s Middletown forecast calls for sunny skies both Friday evening and on Saturday, with no precipitation expected. The high temperature on Saturday will be 85 degrees.<\/p>\n
Even so, the event remains financially \u201csound,\u201d said the event manager, Paula Hale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere wasn\u2019t really any impact from last year to this year,\u201d Hale said. \u201cThere were no changes to this year\u2019s event due to the weather last year.\u201d The organizers\u2019 goal is to at least break even on the event, and the Ohio Challenge has done that most if not all years, she said. It costs $100,000 each year to put on the event.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s festival had some extra offerings like a laser light show, but that was because it was the 10th anniversary year, Hale said. There are no cutbacks this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrimarily what drives us financially is our sponsors. We have been extremely fortunate over the years to have a consistent sponsor base. There are people in the community who see the importance of having such a great event in Middletown,\u201d Hale said.<\/p>\n
Another large aviation event, the Vectren Dayton Air Show, suffered low attendance last month, due primarily to lack of participation of military teams. While event organizers take note of what happens at other shows, Hale said she has never been able to tie Dayton\u2019s air show to Middletown\u2019s balloon festival in terms of a ripple effect. In past years, both events were in the same month, or even on the same weekend.<\/p>\n
The Ohio Challenge\u2019s new primary sponsor, Selection.com, though based in Hamilton County\u2019s Springdale, has agreed to be the main sponsor for the next five years, said its chief visionary officer, David Hart.<\/p>\n
Selection.com, which started in 1991, is a background-checking company that performs between 2 million and 3 million background checks per year for employers. Hart would not say exactly how much the company increased its contributions, except to call it \u201csignificant.\u201d The primary sponsor contributes at least $15,000 to the event, organizers said.<\/p>\n
Selection.com has sponsored Team Fastrax, the skydiving group that performs annually at the event. The skydivers are not as weather-dependent as the balloons and tend to perform even if the balloon flights are cancelled. Hart is a founder and member of that skydiving team. It\u2019s also putting on a full-fledged fireworks display Friday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started the skydiving project back in 2002 to get us into NASCAR and Major League Baseball and events like that. It\u2019s a great venue for us,\u201d Hart said. \u201cSome people have a blimp and some people have hot air balloons. We chose skydiving with all the canopies that have \u2018Selection.com\u2019 on it. It\u2019s been a good marketing venue for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team has been based in Middletown for four years.<\/p>\n