RENO — With the 2010 Great Reno Balloon Race just more than one month away, coordinators are trying to find 28 corporate sponsors to help cover the costs of the event.

Event manager Dixie Craig said Tuesday that while the event is not in danger of cancellation or charging admission, the additional sponsorships are needed to make sure the event is stable for this year and 2011. Corporate sponsorships cost $1,700 each, adding up to a $47,600 Great Reno Balloon Race need.

“It is a rather big chunk of money,” Craig said. “We have some other things in the works we think will help offset it but this number is us not counting on those other things.”

The balloon race costs between $300,000 and $350,000 to put on, Craig said, and relies completely on sponsorships and donations. This year saw $35,000 in revenue disappear with the loss of three major sponsors. When the event started in 1982, she said there were 32 founding sponsors who funded the entire show. Now, she said, there are just five founding sponsors — IGT, the University of Nevada, Reno, and the Peppermill, Silver Legacy and Sands hotels — that provide both money and in-kind services to the event.

As a result of the decline in large-scale giving, donations and smaller sponsorships have become vital to the event, which is completely free to the public. And with just six weeks before the event, there is not enough time for some of the promotional benefits that come with the $10,000 sponsorship level, so Craig said they are aiming to find corporate, family and nonprofit sponsors. Corporate sponsorships enable companies to get their name in front of the event’s 150,000 attendees, according to a release from event organizers.

Family and nonprofit sponsorships cost $899 and include balloon rides each day of the event.

Crowd costs are some of the event’s highest expenses, Craig said, particularly as attendance grows. The number of tables, chairs, dumpsters and portable restrooms needed grows as the number of spectators at Rancho San Rafael Park grows.

“The worse the economy gets the less money people have and the more likely they are to go a free event,” Craig said.

The number of balloons is also affected by the amount of sponsorship money. Normally, organizers aim for about 100 balloons. So far this year, Craig said she has enough money for 83 balloons but will add more if more sponsors are found. The organization works to trade promotions for hotel rooms for pilots, but cash is needed for other perks and to cover the cost of propane for the balloons’ tanks. In 2009, propane costs totaled $11,000 and Craig expects the price to be a little higher this year.

“(Pilots) fly the event because they love Reno, they love the event,” Craig said. “We’re one of the top 10 in the nation.”

While organizers are intent on keeping the event free, a minimal donation from each spectator would eliminate any money concerns.

“If every person in attendance gave us $1, just one $1, we would not have any issues at all,” Craig said.

For more information or donation opportunities, visit www.renoballoon.com.