As investments go, a recent economic analysis shows that the Roots ’N Blues ’N BBQ Festival is a good one for the city of Columbia to make.

An economic impact study on the festival conducted by James Kaufman, director of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri, found that the event had an economic impact of nearly $6 million on Boone County.

The event, largely a gift last year to the community from Boone County National Bank in celebration of its 150th anniversary in October, drew about 70,000 people to two days of downtown festivities, which featured a barbecue contest, live music, food and drink.

Although the bank will be the title sponsor this year, event organizers Terry Woodruff, Steve Sweitzer and Blue Note owner Richard King formed Thumper Entertainment, a limited liability company, to organize the festival and other events this year. But the group needs some financial help to secure the festival’s future.

Last month, Woodruff told the Tribune the event costs about $500,000, and organizers have raised about $60,000 so far.

At their meeting tomorrow, the Columbia City Council will vote whether to provide $100,000 to bring the festival back, using money from the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau’s unreserved fund balance, which is generated from the 4 percent hotel room tax.

Tracy Lane, executive director of Thumper Entertainment, said the money is what will make the festival possible.

"This money is absolutely essential this year," Lane said. "It takes a few years to establish yourself to be able to attract national sponsorships, and that money is really, really key. It’s a great thing for the city, but we couldn’t even be able to lay the groundwork for it without" the funding "this year."

The Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board voted 10-0 on Jan. 28 to recommend that the city council approve the funds for a "one-time sponsorship of $100,000 that would allow the festival to secure main-stage entertainment equivalent to that offered in 2007," CVB Executive Director Lorah Steiner said in a memo. Steiner added that the CVB and its board believe the money should enable Thumper Entertainment to develop regional and national sponsorship for the event in 2009.

"Corporations with a national presence rarely commit large sums to an event until it has a track record," Steiner said. "Raising funds to get the festival through that critical second year is, for any event, quite difficult."

Steiner said the CVB has $746,000 in its unreserved fund balance, which is enough to grant the festival’s $100,000 request, pay for the bureau’s $250,000 portion of Walton Building renovations and keep a $150,000 standing reserve.

In September, the city council showed support for the event by approving $10,000 in seed money from its contingency fund, and several council members have already said they intend to support the request tomorrow.

"This is exactly why we have the tourism tax on hotel rooms, and I think this is a very legitimate use of it," Fourth Ward Councilman Jerry Wade said. "This is a little different because the amount is so much bigger, but I think we have a unique situation here. They did such an incredible job, not only for a first-year festival but for a national-level festival, and if you’re going to do that with quality, you have to make the investment for that to happen."

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