Apache, an oil and gas firm, has agreed to sponsor the Tour de Houston bicycle event this year, one year after financial difficulties threatened to cancel it.
For the first time in over ten years, the yearly cycling event will travel west from downtown to Memorial Park. It now includes new routes geared at families and beginners. On April 13, the 10-, 20-, and 45-mile courses begin downtown at the George R. Brown Convention Center, which is run by Houston First, the city’s marketing division.
At a press conference held Monday morning in front of the convention center, Houston First CEO Michael Heckman stated, “Avenida Houston and right across the street to the beautiful Discovery Green could not be a better place to start and end the event here.”
Prior to the race last year, Mayor John Whitmire claimed credit for renewing the fundraising connection with Apache. For the past twelve years, the firm has sponsored the event.
“My assistants came in and said, Tour de Houston s in trouble breakdown in communication between your Special Events office and Apache Corporation,'” Whitmire said. “I said, Not on my watch, let me talk to the CEO,’ so we agreed to hit the restart button and make it bigger and better.”
The event will include an after-party at Discovery Green in addition to extra routes for families and novice bikers. The $45 registration cost covers admission.
Early bird registration costs are available until February 23. After that, the cost increases to $55.
The money raised goes to the “Re-Plant Houston Campaign” of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.
Kenneth Allen, the director of the department, stated, “We want to protect our urban canopy and we believe in healthy trees.” “Planting 4.6 million trees in Houston by 2030 is one of our climate action objectives. It’s crucial to have Apache support, and I believe we’ll reach this goal with activities like the tour.”
The program is part of Apache’s larger regeneration initiatives, according to Clay Bretches, executive vice president of operations.
“Since 2005, Apache, through its Tree Grant Program, has planted over 5 million trees across our areas of operation, over 460,000 right here in the Greater Houston area,” said Bretches. “Enhancing green spaces and planting trees is essential to responsible urban growth and development.”
