High Point Market Receives Expanded Funding From the State of North Carolina
High Point, NC, July 22, 2013 — The High Point Market Authority learned today that State of North Carolina provided $1.86 million in funding to the Market Authority for the fiscal year July 2013 through June 2014, an increase of $200,000 over the prior year. The budget also designates the funding as recurring, which means the legislature intends to provide funding for the High Point Market Authority in future years as well. The High Point Market Authority received $1.2 million in funds to help cover transportation expenses and $655,000 in marketing funds. The upcoming October Market (October 19-24) will be the first beneficiary of this expanded funding.
Doug Bassett, the High Point Market Authority’s chairman of the board and president of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture, stated, “We greatly appreciate this increase in funding from the State of North Carolina. The $1.86 million in funds provided by the State of North Carolina represents a fair compromise between the $2.0 million we requested and the $1.66 million we received last year.
“These funds will allow us to continue to provide a first-class experience for the more than 75,000 visitors who come twice each year to the largest, most well-known and most important home furnishings industry trade show,” Bassett concluded.
The High Point Market is North Carolina’s biggest economic event with an annual impact of over $1 billion, providing tax revenues to the State of $40-45 million. The Market, in existence for over 100 years, creates more than 13,000 jobs annually during Market weeks including construction, design, planning and logistics. It is the largest concentration of international visitors in North Carolina in a one-week period; includes 180 buildings and over 10 million square feet of show space. The High Point Market provides the equivalent economic benefit of three Super Bowls to the State of North Carolina in a single year, every year.
Commenting on the funding, High Point Market Authority’s president and CEO, Thomas P. Conley, said, “We were thrilled to learn of the State of North Carolina’s funding increase and particularly want to thank the Guilford County delegation for shepherding our request through the General Assembly. Our transportation services during Market weeks provide over 330,000 rides annually, using over 70 vehicles and provide service to five cities, four counties and three airports (GSO, RDU, CLT). Returning our funding to the level we received in 2010/2011 is a move in the right direction.”
About the High Point Market Authority
The High Point Market Authority, www.highpointmarket.org, is the official sponsor and organizer of the High Point Market in High Point, N.C. Featuring an extensive selection of exhibitors spanning every category, style, and price point, and attracting tens of thousands of visitors from more than 100 countries twice each year, the High Point Market is the driving force of the home furnishings industry. Find the High Point Market anywhere online, and follow on Twitter using the hashtag #hpmkt.
SOURCE: High Point Market Authority