SPARKS — As engines roared across Reno and Sparks for Hot August Nights, the Legends at Sparks Marina got a little piece of the action. But it came at a price.

Just like any other business that wants to host a Hot August Nights event at its location, Legends had to arrange for its Chevy-themed Shopping and Fashion Style Walk on Aug. 6.

“We buy an event from them,” said Legends general manager Dennis McGovern. “Last year, we contracted for the poker run.”

McGovern, who is on the Hot August Nights board of directors, said he was satisfied with the event and what it did for Legends business.

“We will work with them on an annual basis,” he said of future events at Legends. “We feel it is a great partnership.”

McGovern did not disclose the contract details for the event, but said the added business seemed to have paid off.

“At a surface glance, it was beneficial,” he said.

The local retail giant will not know how the event affected business until its stores close their monthly books. According to McGovern, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint Hot August Nights’ specific effect on retail due to how the sales data is collected.

“The way our tenants report sales numbers we are unable to do that (track a specific week’s business),” he said. “They don’t report their sales weekly, but rather monthly. We generally compare to a national standard to understand where we are.”

Hot August Nights officials claim a $350 million economic impact is left by the thousands-strong classic car event. However, the effect on Sparks business is relatively unknown.

“We will take a long, hard look at the best anecdotal information we can gather,” McGovern said, “such as the visual traffic and the hearsay from store managers.”

The bottom line on the balance sheets this year may play a role in how much Legends is involved in Hot August Nights events next year. The retail center must add up what it can afford in its marketing and advertising budget, including involvement in Sparks Hometowne Christmas, Black Friday shopping and other events.

“We have to look at a number of things,” McGovern said of Legends’ involvement in Hot August Nights. “We have to go through our approval process for the budget … sit down and put a budget number in there and see what we have left. As the events stack up, the pockets of money keep getting smaller and smaller. … We have to start with an amount of money that the budget will allow.”

Some businesses at Legends welcomed the tourists, but remained leery of the event gaining a stronger foothold at the outlet center.

“Our business always goes up during Hot August Nights,” said Fuddruckers owner Luther Mack. “There are a lot of out-of-state people. Yes, we have an increase.”

But Mack remained hesitant about hosting a Hot August Nights event at his burger restaurant for several reasons.

“What we do is an advertising agreement with Legends,” Mack said. “We participate as part of our lease. Also, hosting a show ‘n’ shine would take away from my parking, which I need for my regular customers.”