Questions for Stefania Demetz

What do athletes and spectators expect from the World Cup in Gardena-Gröden? 
S.D.: We want to offer a high quality sport and entertainment event. This includes the athletic performance by the racers, their safety and the well-being of the audience. We give spectators many different options...

...to see the race up-close. Options include the Jäger Hut right beneath the Camel Humps where a dedicated VIP area will be set up, the VIP Hospitality section at the Finish for our more demanding guests and the dedicated Fan Stands for visiting fan clubs.

What makes Gardena-Gröden special to media, visitors and athletes alike?
S.D.: Maybe I am not the best person to answer this question, perhaps, it should be asked of the participants. I can imagine that tradition and the classic aspects of World Cup in Gardena-Gröden offer a high promise to media, visitors and athletes. We also make every effort to deliver the best possible event. We should also mention the scenery, culture, language and the special holiday atmosphere.

What are some of your long-term projects for World Cup Gardena-Gröden?
S.D.: We are working intensively on a few new projects. They apply to the event in its totality. All sport events are currently undergoing an extraordinary development. We are not excluded from this trend in as we have done as much as we can given the limits set by the current agreement we have in place with FISI. The international federation FIS has inspired us with trust and the audiences have also noticed and recognized our efforts. At the same time we want to take to heart the values of our founding fathers including tradition, professionalism, reliability and innovation and they are reflected in our new slogan “Passion and Performance”.

What is the economic market value of “World Cup Gardena-Gröden”?
S.D.: We regularly assess the market value of our TV broadcasting and media representation by obtaining estimates from specialized media agencies for all major European countries. TV rights are sold to a total of 40 TV stations across the world and a total of 300 journalists from 16 countries are attending and working at the media office during the days of the races. It is impossible to provide any accurate economic value from all these efforts but we estimate that it is in the millions of €. Furthermore, there is a concrete revenue stream provided by guests sojourning in the valley during the World Cup racing week. Also, the number of sold tickets has increased by 10-15% over the last five years. The value added is thus obtained on several levels: internationally through marketing to TV and media, emotionally through the audience and locally through the 800 team members. In this specific case, World Cup Gardena-Gröden is also an important employer. This includes vendors and service providers who are almost all originating from within this region.