Sports Destination Management July/August 2009 : Page 61perfect venue for their event. North Little Rock, Arkansas has been called the ‘Sports and Entertainment Capital of Arkansas’ due in large part to the top rated facilities in the area. Burns Park is a 1600-acre park that provides ample fields for tournaments and has hosted the Youth National Soccer Tour- nament. “We have some of the best soccer fields in the country,” said Shannon Har- ris, sports marketing representative with the North Little Rock Visitors Bureau. “The facilities are a driving force for us. We are opening a new baseball complex in the fall at Burns Park with five fields and two additional fields scheduled to open in 2010.” The same can be said for Decatur, Al- abama with the ‘Taj Mahal’ of soccer. The Jack Allen Recreation Complex is a state-of-the-art facility with 11 laser- graded fields encompassing 27 acres. The facility has been compared to Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Or- lando, Florida for its forward thinking technology – computerized irrigation, sub-drainage, wireless public address sys- tem and wireless scoreboards. “We have become the soccer mecca (of the southeast),” said Tami Reist, president of the Decatur Convention & Visitors Bu- reau. “Some of the things we have done are different and it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.” The United States Youth Soccer Asso- ciation Region 3 will host the 2011 Pres- ident’s Cup in Decatur with 120 teams and approximately 2,400 participants en- compassing 11 states. Southeast College Soccer Showcase, the Olympic Develop- ment Program and the Alabama Youth Soccer Association State and Governor’s Cups will also be held in Decatur. But what if you’re looking for a non- traditional sports venue? The southeast has that too. Lake Jordan and the Ala- bama River in Montgomery, Alabama will act as host to the 2009 Toyota Truck Bassmaster Championship Week in Sep- tember. “Bass fishing tournaments have a following like NASCAR,” said Jo Jo Perry, director of Group Sales with the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce. “There are only 12 anglers, but 3,000 to 4,000 fans. We feel like this will be a gateway for us and open the door for some other bass tournaments and water sports tournaments to come into the area.” In addition to the elite bassmaster event, Montgomery is hosting the Tunnel Thunder Boat Races, with 60 racing boats and approximately 10,000 specta- tors in July. Knoxville, Tennessee is experiencing the same success with water sports tour- naments. They will be hosting the Mas- terCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour in June with 1,000 visitors resulting in over 2 million dollars in economic impact for the area. “Knoxville has hosted just about everything,” Jennifer Morris with the Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corp. said. “We’ve hosted Junior (CONTINUED ON PAGE 62) sportsdestinations.com 61 Highlands County Florida |
