Former Christiansburg High and current Virginia Tech wrestler Hunter Bolen will get a chance to perform in front of local fans next year when the Blacksburg school hosts the ACC wrestling championships.
Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
The Atlantic Coast Conference has awarded Virginia Tech and Blacksburg two conference championships for the upcoming year.
Thursday, the university learned it will host both the wrestling and indoor track events in 2019.
The ACC Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held at Virginia Tech on February 21-23, while the ACC Wrestling Championship are scheduled for March 9 or 10.
Pete Moris, the Associate Athletics Director at Virginia Tech, is thrilled to be hosting both events.
“We are always excited to provide our student-athletes an opportunity to compete for ACC championships in our venues, in addition to hosting other conference schools on the Virginia Tech campus. We know hosting these events makes a positive impact in the New River Valley region and we appreciate the support of everyone involved who helps makes these championships a first-class experience for the participating schools and their fans,” he said.
But he isn’t the only excited about bringing the conference championships here to the New River Valley. The announcement could add some needed revenue into hotels, restaurants and retailers.
Lisa Bleakley, the executive director of the Montgomery County Regional Tourism Board, said this announcement is terrific news as both events fall within the “need” period of December to March.
“To determine the economic impact of this activity one must consider the number of visitors multiplied by the number of days staying in the area. Overnight stays are especially valuable as this indicates people are in the area longer and spending more on necessities such as: food. The direct economic impact of lodging and dining is very important to the area’s economy,” she said.
There is no doubt, according to Bleakley, Tech sports and in most cases collegiate football has a major impact on the area.
In an economic study for Fiscal Year 2014-2015, the numbers were substantial on Tech football games. The direct economic impact was $46.88 million with an additional $22.2 million of indirect and induced impact.
The study also stated approximately 74 percent of the restaurants, retailers and hotels in the NRV said they are positively affected by Virginia Tech football with an average of 15-30 percent revenue increases reported during home football games.
While the economic impact normally talks about “heads in beds” and “butts in seats”, there are also intangible benefits to these championships.
“Hosting these types of events will help the area be able to bid on more sporting events. We currently, welcome competitive youth events in swimming and diving, gymnastics, baseball, basketball. Collegiate sports are frequently held at both Virginia Tech and Radford University,” Bleakley said.
In addition, there is another component the valley is starting to see more of an impact from.
“Youth sports is one of the fastest growing sectors in travel and is essentially recession-proof. While Virginia Tech football is a huge driver of visitation in the local spectator sports environment, the combination of youth amateur, collegiate, and recreation active sports in the market, is one of the work horses of travel to our area. Participant-oriented sports often come with a built-in mini-vacation for some. A study from the University of Florida found that nearly 60 percent of parents surveyed return to the locality for vacation and 74 percent of these parents recommend the location to others,” Bleakley said.
In the case of track and field, the championships are slated for February, meaning there could be positive impact at a time when the overall numbers are down.
“Typically, February is during a softer period of visitation to the area. This competition would bring thousands into the Blacksburg area spending on hotel rooms, dining, and retail to some extent,” Bleakley said.
The tourism director broke down the numbers this way: 30 total teams compete (Men’s and Women’s) equating to just under 1,000 total athletes and coaches. The ACC estimates the event hosts up to 3,000 spectators each year (source: VICTUS ADVISORS LLC).
Assumptions: 2,500 ppl (1,000 participants added to a conservative 1500 spectators), 3 ppl per room, Average 2.5-night stay. 833 rooms x 2.5 nights=2,083 room nights. 2083 x $95 (ADR in March 2017) =$197,885 in direct spending on lodging only. Let’s assume that each person spends $50 per day on food (GSA lists the per diem rate for Blacksburg at $59). 2500x$50=$125,100 x 3 days= $375,3000 estimated for direct spending on food during the 3-day competition. Add incremental state and local sales tax, tourist occupancy tax (hotel), and meals tax, and one can see how quickly the dollars add up for this 3-day event in an otherwise slower time in the winter.
“Wrestling would work the same way although the numbers may not be as great as those with track and field,” she said. “The days of competition are fewer and the participants are not as many (no female teams). The real key is that this competition also comes during a typical softer period for area visitation. Adding this event to what is normally an active time for swimming competition at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center, should prove to maintain occupancy at a high level during March 2019.”
The town of Christiansburg has hosted the Colonial Athletic Conference swimming championships for the past three years and also seen an upswing in revenue during those 3-4 days.
Bleakley said it’s very important for the area to garner these type of conference events.
“Not only in terms of direct spending that is attributable to those events, but also to the ability to woo other such events to the area. The timing of these events make them even more valuable. They come to us at a time of year that is otherwise slower in terms of fully occupied hotel rooms and associated heavy travel activity. Hotel rooms and restaurant seats are “perishable”. Once the time has passed without a sale, it cannot be retrieved. It is important to keep the demand as consistently high as possible,” she concluded.
As previously announced, the 14th annual Dr. Pepper ACC Football Championship Game will be played for the eighth time in nine years at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday, December 1.Charlotte is also set to welcome the New York Life ACC Basketball Tournament to Spectrum Center on March 12-16.
It will mark the 13th time that the Queen City has played host to the event and the first time since 2008. Greensboro, North Carolina, will play host to the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament (March 6-10) at the Greensboro Coliseum for the 19th time in 20 years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference also confirmed Friday the kickoff times for Virginia Tech’s first three games of the 2018 football season.
As was previously announced, Virginia Tech’s opening football game of the 2018 season will take place at Florida State on Sept. 3 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. ESPN will televise the contest to a national audience in prime time on Labor Day Monday Night at 8 p.m. ET.
The Hokies will host a Thursday night prime time matchup with Georgia Tech at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25. The contest will be televised to a national audience by ESPN.
Since the inception of ESPN’s Thursday Night Football package in 1991, the Hokies are 23-9 (.719) in such games. Those 32 Thursday night appearances are the most of any FBS program. The Hokies are a perfect 6-0 on Thursday Night Football against Georgia Tech.
Tech opens its 2018 home schedule against William & Mary on Saturday, Sept. 8. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Lane Stadium with the game slated to be televised by ACC Network Extra. The contest will mark the 64th all-time meeting between the two programs and the first since Tech registered a 34-9 victory in Blacksburg in 2014.
Tech will then welcome East Carolina back to Lane Stadium on Sept. 15. That game will kick off at 12:20 p.m. ET and will be telecast by ACC Network. The ECU game will also serve as this season’s White Effect & Military Appreciation Game.
The Hokies are 2-0 against the Pirates under head coach Justin Fuente, outscoring the Pirates by a 118-34 margin, including a 54-17 victory in Lane Stadium in 2016.
In addition to opening the season at Florida State, the Hokies will host Notre Dame at Lane Stadium for the inaugural time as the Fighting Irish make their initial appearance in Blacksburg on Oct. 6. ACC home opponents for Tech in 2018 include Virginia, Miami, Georgia Tech and Boston College. The Hokies will also travel to face ACC foes Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh.
The Hokies enter the 2018 season seeking to extend a streak of 25 straight bowl appearances – the longest active streak recognized by the NCAA. The Hokies finished the 2017 season ranked No. 24 in the AP Top 25, marking the first time since 2010 and 2011 that Tech has finished in the final AP poll in back-to-back seasons. The Hokies were also ranked in the final USA Today Coaches Poll, checking in at No. 25.
The ACC and its television partners also announced the game times and networks for the first three weeks of the 2018 season, except for non-conference road games controlled by other conferences.
Also included in the announcement were the times and networks for the other Thursday and Friday night contests throughout the 2018 season, except for one game on Friday, Nov. 23.
Duke’s season opener vs. Army West Point, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 1, has been moved to Friday, Aug. 31, and will be televised at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
Other game times announced for nationally televised Friday night games include Georgia Tech at Louisville on Oct. 5 (7 p.m., ESPN), Miami at Boston College on Oct. 26 (7 p.m., ESPN), Pitt at Virginia on Nov. 2 (7:30 p.m., ESPN2), and Louisville at Syracuse on Nov. 9 (7 p.m., ESPN2).
Game times were announced for Thursday night games on ESPN, including North Carolina at Miami on Sept. 27 (8 p.m., ESPN), Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech on Oct. 25 (7:30 p.m., ESPN) and Wake Forest at NC State on Nov. 8 (7:30 p.m. ESPN).