Officials unveil details of new Nevada adventure tourism push

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004 | 11:16 a.m.

RENO -- Two Southern Nevada tourist attractions will be locations for the kickoff of a promotional television show designed to put the state in the forefront of adventure tourism.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area will be the venue for the first stage of the six-day, multisport "Nevada Passage" competition. The event, which will feature 10 teams of non-professional athletes competing in adventure sports, will kick off May 19 with a rock climb and scramble on the sandstone cliffs west of Las Vegas.

The next day, the teams will race personal watercraft in time trials from the Lake Mead Marina near Boulder City to Echo Bay Marina.

State tourism officials and event organizer Team Unlimited on Tuesday gave details of the "Nevada Passage" event, which was first announced in September.

"They'll be competing for bragging rights and a fabulous trophy," said Janet Clark, president of Team Unlimited, of the competitors who have yet to be chosen for the event.

Honolulu-based Team Unlimited has produced numerous syndicated competitions and will use athletes that have worked with the company in the past for the first edition of "Nevada Passage," which state tourism officials hope would be seen by 2 million viewers.

But representatives of the Nevada Commission on Tourism say there are a number of options to sustain viewer interest in future editions of the show.

The first taping will occur May 19-24. After the two Southern Nevada events, participants will move north to Ely for a four-wheel drive rally and treasure hunt May 21, a bike race and hiking trek at Lamoille Canyon and in the Ruby Mountains near Elko May 22, a sandboard contest at Sand Mountain near Fallon May 23 and a whitewater kayaking competition on the Truckee River between Verdi and Reno May 24.

The competitors will be two-person teams of one man and one woman, paired by profession to give the event a "common man" feel.

The taping of the competition will be whittled down to a one-hour television show. Team Unlimited plans to begin selling the syndication rights to the show in February. Clark said the program is expected to air in various markets across the country between August and November. Team Unlimited expects the show would be syndicated in more than 80 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Sacramento, Calif.

The Commission on Tourism has budgeted $250,000 on the project, with the primary objective of the event to promote Nevada's rural tourism opportunities.

Future versions of "Nevada Passage" could include adventure tourism activities that are winter sports, recruiting celebrity participants for the contests or developing interest in a contestant search, said Bruce Bommarito, executive director of the Nevada Commission on Tourism.