Dew Tour Decision Is Unknown

OCEAN CITY – The town still waits in suspense for the decision of whether the Dew Tour will be held in Ocean City or Virginia Beach.

Rumors circulated this week that Dew Tour officials had decided on Ocean City for a summer stop. On Wednesday, Tourism Director Deb Turk dispelled those rumors.

“We’re still waiting to hear about the Dew Tour,” Turk told the Economic Development Committee (EDC). “We’re competing with Virginia Beach, but we feel pretty strongly about where we are. I’ve been in contact with them and there could be a decision as soon as this week.”

The Dew Tour would be in Ocean City July 21-24. It is a professional action sports tour, which would encompass BMX, skateboarding and possibly surfing. The world’s best extreme sport athletes compete for prize money, trophies, and points on the overall Dew Cup standing. The tour produces over 50 million viewers and 220,000 participants worldwide.

According to the Tourism Department, Ocean City would receive nearly $6 million in advertising from this event. The economic impact to the town would be significant.

Ocean City would be the only East Coast venue, as well as the only beach the tour would go to.

“This would be huge for Ocean City,” Turk said. “Andy Malis [the town’s marketing company president] has said this will be a resort-altering event.”