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September 6, 2008

Jeep event expected to bring $500,000 to county

By Patrick McCreless

A national organization plans to use Cullman County’s all-terrain vehicle park next year for an event expected to pump half a million dollars into the local economy.

According to a recent press release, Jeep Jamboree USA of California announced Stony Lonesome OHV Park would be the site for a tri-state Jeep jamboree event in the spring of 2009. The event, which is the first of its kind in the southeast, will bring in Jeep enthusiasts from Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

The press release states the 100 families and support staff expected to attend the event will generate more than $500,000 in revenue for Cullman County businesses.

“That’s extremely important for the community and the park, to bring in this kind of money this quickly,” said OHV Park Director John Sellers.

The press release also states that after the first year, the event will grow to include between 175 and 200 families.

“I think this will be the start of some good events,” said Cullman County Commission Chairman Wiley Kitchens.

Sellers said the event would not just bring money into the county, but would also create a buzz about the park.

“It’s extremely important having them here ... it will mean a lot in marketing the park outside the state,” Sellers said.

According to the Jeep Jamboree USA Web site, Jeep jamborees began in 1954 and are off-road adventure weekends designed to bring Jeep 4 by 4 enthusiasts together.

The OHV Park, a $2 million project that spans 1,465 acres, is located near Bremen and is scheduled to open in mid-October. The park will mainly feature trails for all-terrain (ATV) vehicles such as 4-wheelers, but will also have trails for bike and horseback riding.

“I’m very pleased with it (park) so far,” Kitchens said. “We knew it would be a slow process to get the park started but once we got it going, we knew it would be real good.”

Sellers said plans have been underway for several weeks to bring the Jeep jamboree to the OHV Park.

“They are always looking for new sites and wanted to come down to do a site visit,” Sellers said. “We drove them around and showed them our plans and they decided it was exactly what they needed.”

Sellers said several of the event organizers would soon return to the park to assist with laying out trails specifically for the Jeep jamboree. He added that the organizers would take of the cost of holding the event as well.

“They do everything,” Sellers said. “They’re a very structured organization.”

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