Sam Rayburn Money
By Jimmy Galvan ~ Managing Editor, Jasper Newsboy

For years, many have argued over the economic impact that Lake Sam Rayburn has in Jasper and in Jasper County. During last week's meeting of the Jasper County Development District #1, a study was presented to the board stating the impact of the Umphrey Pavilion alone. The study, which was presented by Nelson Burton, chairman of the Lake Sam Rayburn Pavilion Association, estimated the pavilion had an economic impact of $2.6 million dollar impact on the area in 2006.

The news was music to the ears of JCDD#1 Chairman Gary Collins as he has long sung the praises of the lake as an economic impact driver for this region. "We think the figure should be closer to $3.5 to $4 million," Collins said. "The lake and the pavilion out here are significant to the economy of Jasper and Jasper County and it¹s important that we work together."

The criteria for the study surrounded dealt with the number who attended the event multiplied by $75 spent per day. "And that is a very conservative figure," Collins said. "You will spend almost $75 a day on lodging itself so that doesn¹t cover food, gas or anything spent on the side."

Collins stressed the study is not an exact study but represents a close estimation on what is spent annually as a result of lake-hosted events at the pavilion.

"This just shows you what that one site has had on the economy of Jasper since its opening in 2005," Collins said. "Even at a conservative figure, it is significant. This does not take in the impact from the tournaments held at Mill Creek, Twin Dikes and are not scheduled into the pavilion," Collins said. "Or the weekenders that come out of surrounding towns that just weigh in in the parking lot."

In 2006, the lake hosted 47 events and in 2007, the number of hosted events grew to 48. So far in 2008, 34 events have been hosted on the lake. The report also estimated that the pavilion drew 13,000 local residents and 19,100 out-of-town visitors during 2006. According to Collins, the Corps of Engineers said last year the lake drew 1.7 million visitors. This figure is taken off of those who paid park fees while visiting the lake. "I would bet that we have more of the recreational business than any other area because of the big open water we have," Burton said.

The district is putting all these statistics together to present them to Congressman Kevin Brady and Senator John Cornyn in an effort to secure federal funds to replace damaged boat ramps on Rayburn.

"If we let these boat ramps fall into the lake, we are going to suffer a tremendous amount of economic damage to Jasper County," Collins said. "With 12 ramps, we can put in 3,000 boats easy. No other lake has that option. We need these boat ramps replaced to continue to grow."

Collins also addressed the rumors that Lufkin's Cassel- Boykin Park may soon tap into Umphrey's claim to the fishing industry. "There is nothing to that at all," Collins said. "I have camped at Cassel-Boykin and they have no motel facilities in the area. A pavilion there would be nice and we would like to work in conjunction with them but they can't accommodate the number of fishermen that we can. We can¹t worry about them anyway," Burton said. "We had our foot in the door first and we want to stay first. Lake Sam Rayburn is the best resource that Jasper County has got."

Presently, four boat ramps are out completely and three are in danger of closing soon. Umphrey Pavilion grew from an idea to build a showcase area that could host major fishing events. From its humble beginnings, the pavilion has grown as a non-profit entity. "Rayburn always had a lot of fishing tournaments but there was a need for a facility so that these tournaments could grow," Burton said. "Now, we are seeing 300-350 boats in tournaments and when you see that you are seeing 700 people fishing and that provides a big impact."

Burton said Umphrey Pavilion is "struggling for money" at the present moment. "We haven't received the funds that we thought we would get," Burton said. "We have received some good local support but the rest of it has some out of Beaumont and Houston, sad to say."

Being that the pavilion relies mainly on weekend business, Burton said there is no way for the pavilion can support itself 100 percent. Presently, Burton said the minimum charge per day for fishing tournaments is $400-650 a day depending on the size of the fishing tournament. "We just don¹t feel that we have realized or utilized the resource that we have here," Burton said.