While it has brought in millions of dollars each year to the Emporia Community, Emporia Main Street Director Casey Woods says the benefits of Unbound Gravel, and other large-scale events held in the community, do not stop there.
During an interview on KVOE’s Talk of Emporia Monday morning, Woods noted that hosting such events has brought significant name recognition to the community. He noted that in the years before activities such as Unbound, the Dynamic Discs Open and many others became staples of Emporia, there were few from outside of the local area that recognized the name.
Now, Woods says it is almost commonplace to run into individuals across the nation, and the world to an extent, who have either visited or heard of the community. Woods says this name recognition is useful in many ways, namely in attracting future business to the community.
Woods also says that for a city the size of Emporia to continue being known on a national and international level, it has to diversify its offerings of community events, something he says the city does very well. He pointed to events such as Dia De Los Muertos, the Flatland Cruisers Car Show, Cinco De Mayo, the Great American Market and other annual events as an example of this.
He also pointed to other short-term activities that have come to the area in the past, including the NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships, as great additions to an already impressive resume for the city.
With Unbound Gravel now wrapped up for the year, the next major event for the community will be the 2024 PDGA Masters World Championships set to take place next week.
