Smoke in Sparks means racks of ribs and revenue

SPARKS - The smoky, sweet barbecue aroma wafting across Interstate 80 in Northern Nevada this week is the smell of money for Reno and Sparks hotels and casinos trying to rebound from the sour economy.

With two dozen of the best rib cookers in the country and more than 120 tons of meat, the 24th annual Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off, which kicked off Wednesday, is expected to attract nearly half a million visitors through Labor Day.

About 500,000 people helped pump $24.8 million into the local economy last year, and businesses are optimistic this year's event will be as good or better.

"It's really an economic driver for the region," said Beth Cooney, executive marketing director for John Ascuaga's Nugget, the founding sponsor of the event, which includes music on three stages, crafts and vendors on five blocks of closed-off streets along Victorian Square in downtown Sparks, a stone's throw from Interstate 80.

The cook-off has been gaining national attention in recent years, with a television show dedicated to it on the Food Channel and a program on the Travel Channel called "Rib Paradise."

This year's competitors come from Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan, California and Nevada.

"For one week each year, this event puts Sparks on the national map," city spokesman Adam Mayberry said. "There's no way to calculate the value this event brings the city."

Bone Daddy's BBQ of Midland, Mich., Checkered Pig BBQ of Martinsville, Va., Bourbon Q of Westport, Ky., and Aussom Aussie BBQ of Pittsburgh are among the regulars back again this year.

"We love coming to Sparks," said Andrew Mackay, a member of the Aussom Aussie team who hails from Sydney.

"It transforms into this enormous, fantastic event with 500,000 people and thousands of pounds of ribs," he said.

Cooney estimates attendees are about a 50-50 split between locals and tourists.

In 2011, about 50 percent of the out-of-town visitors stayed overnight in commercial lodging, with the Nugget getting about 12 percent of those visitors and other hotel properties getting about
29 percent, according to an Infosearch Economic Impact Study.

Seventy-nine percent of the out-of-town visitors reported their primary reason for visiting the area was the rib cook-off, according to the study. It broke down visitor spending during the cook-off to include:

■ $8.5 million on gambling.

■ $8.2 million on food and beverages.

■ $5.5 million on lodging.

■ $1.1 million on shopping.