In its early years, the Greater Chattanooga Sports and Events Committee helped Chattanooga gain national attention with major spectator events, often televised nationwide. Chattanooga hosted the 1AA NCAA national football championship game at Finley Stadium from 1997 through 2009, the SEC Women's Basketball tournament at McKenzie Arena from 1993 to 2000, and the Chattanooga Golf Classic on the PGA tour from 1986 to 1992.
Those events have all moved to bigger and greener pastures elsewhere. But in their place, the Scenic City has drawn what has proven to be even more profitable, sporting events that capitalize on Chattanooga's natural attractions and focus more on the participants than their fans. The new venues for Chattanooga's biggest sporting events are now the Tennessee River, mountain roads around Chattanooga, area softball and soccer fields and the convention center.
The top three events for generating visitor spending in Chattanooga this year reflect the changed focus for the Chattanooga Sports Committee, which moved under the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau in 2004. The Ironman triathlon, the Athletic Cheer and Dance National championships and the Head of the Hooch rowing competition may not make ESPN's highlight reels, but they are expected to pump more than $17.3 million into the local economy.
Other outdoor softball and extreme sports, including this month's shorter 70.3-mile version of the Ironman contest, will add at least another $10 million to the local economy from outside visitors.
"There was anguish among some people when we lost the NCAA championship game and the SEC women's basketball tournament, but we're doing much better today in generating economic activity from the sporting events we've brought to Chattanooga," says Bob Doak, president of the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Doak recruited Tim Morgan from Charlotte, North Carolina in 2012 to head up the revamped sports committee and Morgan set to work to build on Chattanooga's natural attractions.
"We knew we had a lot to offer with our great outdoor attractions and scenery so we actively pursued the Ironman event," Morgan says.
In 2014, Chattanooga hosted its first Ironman contest and brought more than 2,500 participants from around the globe to Chattanooga for the event's grueling 2.4-mile swim in the Tennessee River, a 116-mile bike ride through the mountains of Tennessee and Georgia and a 26.2-mile marathon run ending up in downtown Chattanooga.
The fall Ironman contest, and the shorter Ironman triathlon scheduled for May 17, are projected to draw more than 18,000 persons between the two events and pump nearly $10 million into the local economy.
Brian Myrick, the race director for Ironman in Chattanooga, has worked on such races for the World Triathlon Corporation for the past 15 years around the globe.
'Ironman seeks compelling destinations and exciting venues that have the infrastructure to host 3,000 or more participants and Chattanooga has certainly shown us that this city has all of that and more," he says. "We were very happy with how the event occurred last year, from the police departments, to the convention and visitors bureau to the great city and county governments. The community really came together to help make a great event and we're looking forward to many more."
Myrick was so impressed with Chattanooga, he moved here to help coordinate the two major triathlons this year.
"We have Ironman events in 112 cities around the world and Chattanooga ranks up there with some of the best," Myrick says.
This article appears in the May issue of Edge magazine, which may be read online at www.meetsforbusiness.com