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Five AAU National Basketball Championships in Four Years Means Millions of Dollars For Clarksville – Montgomery County Community

Visit Clarksville TennesseeClarksville, TN – Over the next four years, Clarksville-Montgomery County will host five high economic impact AAU Basketball Championships bringing in a total of $8.9 million of revenue. The 2015 event will be held this upcoming July 10th-15th.

The community will welcome the 2015-2018 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) 10U Boy’s Basketball National Championships as well as the 2016 AAU 6th Grade Girl’s National Championships. In total, over 15,000 visitors will pass through to be a part of, or watch, the games. The 2017-2018 boy’s tournaments were recently awarded to the team at Visit Clarksville after a rigorous bid process.

Traditionally, the AAU Basketball Site Selection Committee meets annually to consider bids on tournaments in the coming two to three year period.

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 must 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 initiative.

“The Aspire Foundation was designed to help the community develop in high impact areas across multiple sectors, including tourism,” said Cal Wray, Executive Director of the Aspire Clarksville Foundation. “Through generous funding by our investors, our team has the opportunity to competitively recruit events such as AAU Championships, which by 2018 will generate over $24 million in revenue for the community since we started hosting tournaments in 1999.”

Clarksville-Montgomery County markets to AAU on several main points including major interstate access, proximity to the Nashville 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.

Local hoteliers commitment to promoting and facilitating sports tourism is an integral part of ensuring that events such as AAU run smoothly. Their willingness to be active partners in the event, allows Clarksville to leverage valuable assets, including hotel rooms, when recruiting large-scale events. Support from dining, retail and volunteer organizations are also vital to the success of events the community hosts.

Each year the tournaments play in Clarksville-Montgomery County, millions of dollars are brought into the community through several different avenues. 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.

“AAU basketball has brought a great deal of exposure to our community over the years. We can expect to see 3,000 participants, coaches and family members during each weeklong event, many who have never visited Clarksville before, ” said Steve Stroman, Chairman of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “On behalf of the CVB, I would like to thank our Executive Director, Theresa Harrington, and our fellow board member, County Commissioner Jerry Albert, for all of the work they perform in attracting and retaining this important event for Clarksville.”

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 are a major factor in the Site Selection Committee’s decision to bring AAU events to Clarksville,” said Jerry Allbert, Tournament Director.

During the weeks leading up to sporting 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 Visit Clarksville. “When people visit, it is our goal 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.”

Over the past decade-and-a-half, the city-county has hosted various AAU events such as Regional and Sub-State basketball tournaments, as well as National Championships for both boys and girls.

About Amateur Athletic Union

Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Competitive BasketballThe 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

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