Outdoor Recreation Office

OVERVIEW

U.C.A. 63M-1-3301–3306

The Outdoor Recreation Office (ORO) is housed in the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and embodies the state’s ongoing commitment to the recreation economy, its products and services The Outdoor Recreation Office works to promote Utah as the top state for the outdoor products and recreation industries ORO advocates for and develops outdoor recreation as part of the state’s economy We work diligently to ensure that outdoor recreation in Utah’s diverse and beautiful landscape continues to enhance the quality of life for generations to come

The Office of Outdoor Recreation endeavors to capitalize on the growth in the outdoor industry in a way that plays to Utah’s natural beauty and unique strengths An Outdoor Industry Association study notes that for every dollar spent purchasing outdoor equipment, the user will spend four dollars creating an experience with the product The office strives to bring more outdoor retail industry companies to Utah, which brings manufacturing, sales and distribution jobs to the state and at the same time, helps to promote Utah as a world-class outdoor recreation destination The Outdoor Recreation Office also works with rural and urban communities throughout the state who want to build mountain biking and hiking trails to draw outdoor enthusiasts to places such as Daggett County, which received an Industrial Assistance Fund grant for $40,000 to build mountain biking trails near Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, and draw greater numbers of tourists and travelers from the Wasatch Front to spend money in Manila and Dutch John

Governor Gary Herbert addressing attendees at the first Governor’s Outdoor Recreation Summit.

The two Outdoor Retailer shows are the largest in the state. Combined the winter and summer market shows generated nearly $48 million in direct delegate spending in 2014.

FY 2014 Highlights:

• The first ever Governor’s Outdoor Recreation Summit was held in May More than 400 people attended the sold-out conference which focused on the sharing of information and ideas to responsibly grow, promote and enhance the state’s flourishing recreation economy The Outdoor Recreation Office is already planning the second Governor’s Outdoor Recreation

Summit which will be held on March 3, 2015 at the Salt Palace

• A Taiwan/China delegation, composed of more than 20 executives from major bike companies as well as bicycle-centric media, toured Utah last fall as guests of Ogden City to evaluate the viability of making

Utah their U S based headquarters The tour was so successful that there will be a second tour in September 2014 with additional bicycling companies represented on the tour around Utah

Brad Petersen, the director of the Outdoor Recreation Office.

Petzl Headquarters

Photo courtesy of Dana Sohm

• Petzl, a leading manufacturer of technical climbing equipment and hands free lighting, moved into their new state-of the-art, LEED certified, 82,000 sq ft building in West Valley City. The new $20 million building is double the square footage of their former building at the Freeport Center in Clearfield About half of the space contains a new warehouse with a robotic picking system, but a significant portion contains a training center for people who use their ropes and lighting technology for work or recreation • Scott USA is a multi-sport company with several different divisions in ski, motorsports, running and outdoor products Scott moved their warehouse and goggle manufacturing to Ogden a few years ago, and then moved their North

American headquarters to Utah as well this past September They grew so much over the last few years that they outgrew their space in Sun Valley, where they had been located since 1958 Scott USA’s new Salt Lake City office is within a convenient distance from an international airport, which has provided a better

Pineview Reservoir hosted Outdoor Retailer attendees for an open air demo day. The Summer 2014 show had a 15 percent increase in exhibitors.

Mercury Cycle, which helped sponsor a team in the Tour of Utah, recently moved their company to Utah.

location for their European visitors Their employees and sponsored athletes are excited about the close-by trail systems, great places to ski, and they added,

“Some of the best road riding,” as well • Ogden is continuing to solidify its position as a cluster area for the bicycling industry Volagi Bicycles, a growing manufacturer of carbon fiber, steel and titanium framed bicycles and bicycle components, moved to Ogden in November 2013 from Morgan Hills, California Mercury Cycle, a maker of carbon composite wheels, moved to Ogden from Oxford, Mississippi in July 2014 As

Mercury Wheels owner, Chris Mogridge told journalist from Company Week,

“Utah was very interested in our business Ogden, in particular; I think they understand that it takes businesses of all sizes to build a growing industry cluster ” • Osprey Packs, a leading maker of backpacks and travel gear, announced they will be consolidating and moving all of their distribution to Ogden in mid2015 The company considered three other locations in Kansas, Arizona and

California before choosing Ogden Osprey liked Utah’s large and modern warehousing area with its easy access to the national rail network The move will reduce their operating cost and carbon footprint

For additional information about the Utah Outdoor Recreation Office visit www.business.utah.gov or contact Director Brad Petersen at bradp@utah.gov or 801-538-8873