Could bike race be nearing the finish line?
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
One of the premiere bike races in the world could be canceled because of a lack of funding. A decision will soon be made, and the scramble is on to find money to keep the event in Philadelphia.
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The Philadelphia stop on the pro-cycling tour is about half a million dollars short of the $1.7 million to put on the June event. Organizer Dave Chauner says he's trying to solicit new last minute sponsors.
Chauner: We've done most of the planning we've got a lot of things in place, now we've got to start laying out the real money, we have to know for sure that the money is going to be there.
The city now requires that all events pay for police and cleanup overtime and other costs. Mayor Nutter was surprised when he found out the race was in jeopardy.
Nutter: Our policy is if you have these kinds of events you have to pay for the services, we have been working with them on how to reduce those costs.
Organizers say they are still trying to raise money and will make a final decision whether or not to hold the race on Monday.