Northern Kentucky

NASCAR fans flock to
Kentucky Speedway
in Sparta to fill all
107,000 seats.
On the first Sunday in May at 6:30 a.m.,
runners are toeing the starting line for the
annual Flying Pig Marathon. The 26.2-mile
course starts and ends in Cincinnati, with
miles of Kentucky vistas in the middle, in
the cities of Newport and Covington. There
were 6,163 registered runners for the 1999
inaugural event. By 2016, participation was
39,692 people from all 50 states and 17
countries for the marathon, the Flying Pig
half-marathon, 10K, 5K, plus fun runs and
relays. Spectators are “street squealers” and
marathon runners end the foot race at the
“swine line.”
More than $1 million was raised for 200
charities. According to a study conducted
by Xavier University, the economic impact
of the Flying Pig Marathon in 2016 was
$13.31 million.
Spectators have collegiate teams to
cheer for also. In Highland Heights,
Ky., the Norse of Northern Kentucky
University play to an average 2,297 fans
per men’s basketball game and 1,435 for
women’s basketball games. There are 17
sports programs on the campus.
Thomas More College, located in
Crestview Hills, has 22 intercollegiate athletic
teams, having added four in the past three
years: wrestling, women’s lacrosse, and men’s
and women’s bowling. Home attendance
for the Saints last year was 35,141. The
economic impact of 79 visiting teams
spending an average $85 room charge for 15
rooms for at least one night is $100,725.
For outdoor enthusiasts, Big Bone
Lick State Park offers 62 campsites for
camping, 4.5 miles of trails for hikers, a
7.5-acre lake for fishermen, plus tennis
courts, picnic grounds, a miniature golf
course and plenty of birdwatching.
Holding down the winter dates of
Kentucky’s year-round racing circuit is
Turfway Park. The Thoroughbred horseracing
track opened in Florence, Ky, in 1959
as Latonia Race Track and was renamed
Turfway Park in 1986. In has given fans
several Kentucky “firsts.” It was the first
track in the state to offer night racing
(1968), Sunday racing (1980), simulcast
wagering (1982) and Pick 3 wagering
(1987). Turfway was the first track in the
country to install the all-weather synthetic
surface called Polytrack (2005).
The winter/spring meet at Turfway runs
Jan. 1 through April 1, and a holiday meet
Above: Northern Kentucky University has 17
collegiate teams for sports fans to cheer for,
and attracts on average 2,297 fans to its men’s
basketball games.
Below: Turfway Park in Florence is a popular
Thoroughbred racing track that opened in 1959.
takes place in December. For 2017, the
highlight of the winter/spring meet will
be the $500,000 Spiral Stakes in March, a
Grade 3 prep for the Kentucky Derby.
Turfway Park was also among the
first tracks to support aftercare efforts,
helping to take care of Thoroughbreds
after their racing careers end. Turfway
began helping fund four Kentucky-based
agencies in 2012 and now participates in
the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
FCC, the Fùtbol Club of Cincinnati,
debuted in 2016. Based on a study
done by the University of Cincinnati
Sports Administration (UCSA) in July, an
estimated $384,919 of direct spending
was attributable to the local area by
spectators of the FC Cincinnati soccer
matches hosted at Nippert Stadium. l
Paul Brown Stadium is home to the
NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals and sits next
to Great American Ball Park.
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