Visit Anderson & Visit Greenville named “2015 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism”

ANDERSON, SC – Sports Destination Management, a top publication for sports event planners and tournament directors recently honored Visit Anderson and Visit Greenville as recipients of the “2015 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism” award.

Visit Anderson, Visit Greenville and BASS were recognized for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, which is widely known as the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing. The Bassmaster Classic, which featured 56 of the top anglers in the world, was won by Donalds, South Carolina native Casey Ashley. The event took place in Anderson on Lake Hartwell with daily weigh-ins taking place in Greenville at the Bon Securs Welness Arena. The Bassmaster Classic Expo was held daily at the TD Convention Center.  The Bassmaster Classic, the coldest on record in the 45 year history of the event, attracted the third largest crowd ever to see the Classic with over 100,000 spectators. Over 300 media from around the world gathered to cover the event that would later air on ESPN2, ESPN Classic and the Outdoor Channel with over 12 hours of TV Coverage. The record-setting event gave a conservative estimate of $17 million of economic impact in the upstate and more than 11,000 hotel room nights to the Anderson and Greenville area.

“Hosting the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell further validated our lake as a championship-caliber fishery. There hasn’t been a week that has gone by since February that we haven’t taken a phone call where someone wanted to talk about Lake Hartwell. We were excited to be able to work with the great folks at Visit Greenville SC, B.A.S.S. and our many friends right here in our local community. We are very excited to receive this recognition and look forward to hosting BASS in our community again.” – Neil Paul, Visit Anderson

“Being a repeat host of the spectacular B.A.S.S. tournament highlights Greenville’s emergence as a premium sports event destination. We are honored for both being recognized for this award as well as being selected as the host city for the Classic.” – Chris Stone, President of Visit GreenvilleSC

“We are so grateful for our partnership with Visit Greenville SC, Visit Anderson and all of our friends in the Upstate. Everyone truly rolled out the red carpet for our anglers, fans, sponsors and staff. The recognition of this award is indicative of the significant impact the Bassmaster Classic leaves on the sports and tourism industries, and it is an honor to be acknowledged.” – Michael Mulone, B.A.S.S. Director of Events and Tourism Partnerships