Close to 2,200 athletes, coaches, and spectators will visit Clarksville on Saturday, October 6 for the Class A and AA Boys and Girls Cross Country Middle School State Championships.
Armed with tents, coolers, and plenty of water, family members will cheer runners along the two-mile course beside the Hilldale Baptist Church Family Life Center, 250 Old Farmers Road.
“Recruiting and facilitating amateur sports events continue to be top priorities for us,” says Visit Clarksville Chairman Tom Kane. “Clarksville offers first-class venues for such a variety of events, we’re centrally located and easily accessible within the state, and we have plenty of hotel rooms and restaurant options to accommodate guests. This, along with our exceptional reputation for customer service, makes Clarksville a superb destination for sports competitions.”
This year marks the fourth year that Clarksville will host the cross country state championships. Visit Clarksville officials estimate that visitor spending surrounding the event this year will total $825,000.
“We could not hold this event in Clarksville without the hard work and dedication from the APSU Cross Country coaching staff and players, the Visit Clarksville staff, and Hilldale Baptist Church,” said Richard McWhirter, TSSAA Assistant Executive Director. “We always want our competitors to have a first-class experience when they make it to the state level, and Clarksville’s volunteers and venues help us meet those expectations.”
During the 2017-18 fiscal year ending June 30, Visit Clarksville hosted 19 sports events for basketball, soccer, cross country, track & field, baseball, softball, road and cycling races, horseshoes, and football. These events brought 56,914 visitors to Clarksville-Montgomery County who spent an estimated $15.5 million while here. Total hosted event and group spending for the fiscal year totaled $18 million.
About Visit Clarksville
The Clarksville-Montgomery County Tourism Commission was established by the State of Tennessee in 1979 to positively influences tourism in the Clarksville-Montgomery County area by promoting tourist attractions, hosting conventions, group tours, and engaging in large-scale marketing efforts. In 2015, the organization adopted the Visit Clarksville brand. Visit Clarksville is governed by nine board of director members and is funded by a portion of the local hotel-motel tax.