Clarksville-Montgomery County to Host 2015 and 2016 Basketball Championships

Clarksville, TN – The Clarksville-Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is pleased to announce that the community will host the 2015 and 2016 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) 4th Grade Division One and Division Two Boys’ Basketball National Championships. The tournaments will take place in mid-July of both years.

Traditionally, the AAU Basketball Site Selection Committee meets annually, where they bid on tournaments in advance of two and three years. This very competitive process generally includes bid seekers from cities such as Albuquerque, Houston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Detroit.

In order to be a part of this process, each city much present the elements that make their community competitive, as well as pay a nominal bid fee. Bid fees for these tournaments were funded through a grant from the Aspire Clarksville Foundation, the privately funded community benchmarking and marketing initiative.

“The Aspire Foundation was designed as an instrument to help the community develop economically in multiple sectors, including tourism.  Through generous funding by our investors, our team has the opportunity to competitively recruit events such as AAU Basketball National Championships, which have generated well over $15 million in revenue for the community since we started hosting tournaments in 1999,” said James Chavez, President and CEO of the city-county Economic Development Council.

The CVB marketed four main points about Clarksville-Montgomery County for the 2015 and 2016 tournaments, including major interstate access and proximity to Nashville’s International Airport, multiple well-equipped venues within a short driving distance, financially committed community and business leaders, and exclusive media coverage made possible by area media partners.

“AAU basketball has brought a great deal of exposure to our community over the years,” said Geno Grubbs, Chairman of the CVB. “Each team member brings an average of two family members with them during the tournament. We can expect to see nearly 10,000 participants, coaches and family members here in Clarksville-Montgomery County during each week long event.”

Over the past decade, Clarksville-Montgomery County has hosted various AAU events such as Regional and Sub-State basketball tournaments as well as National Championships for both boys and girls. Most recently, the 2011 7th Grade Girls’ Basketball Championship generated over $2.5 million in revenue for the community.

There will be an estimated 90 D1 and D2 teams in the community during the upcoming events. The championships are also expected to generate approximately $3.3 million for Clarksville-Montgomery County each summer. Money generated comes from travel funds spent on hotel accommodations, food, recreation and shopping. An obvious upswing in county tax revenue will be seen during the months that the basketball tournaments are in the community.

Pennie Smith, General Manager with Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield Inn & Suites in Clarksville, said, “As a local hotelier that has a long standing history in this community, I can say that recreation tourism has consistently brought great exposure to our hotels, as well as other hotels in Clarksville and in the region.”

“We generally sell out rooms early and stay booked throughout the week that sports tournaments are in town. That is good for not only our business, but also the restaurants and stores who are in our community as well.”

The events will take place in high school and middle schools gyms throughout the county, with the championship bracket played historically at Austin Peay State University Dunn Center.

“The superior quality of our venues and the overwhelming support of CMCSS, Austin Peay and other community venues were a determining factor in the Site Selection Committee’s decision to come to Clarksville,” said Jerry Allbert, Tournament Director.

During the weeks leading up to the events, as well as the week of, the CVB plays a key role in facilitating the tournament including logistics, marketing, volunteer recruitment and community relations.

“We are extremely excited about having AAU back in Clarksville-Montgomery County and welcoming all those who may have not had a reason in the past to visit our community,” said Theresa Harrington, Executive Director of the CVB. “Our goal, when people visit, is to give them a reason to come back. I know with all that we have to offer, we will gain repeat visitors after the AAU tournaments.”

About Amateur Athletic Union

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer, sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.

Find out more about the AAU at www.aausports.org.