Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Approximately 4,000 to 5,000 athletes and fans will gather in Christiansburg this weekend as part of four major youth sporting events.
In addition, Virginia Tech will host Florida State in men’s basketball.
All of this tied together means big bucks for the town and surrounding areas as hotels are packed and restaurants will see their share of visitors.
Christiansburg Mayor Michael Barber calls it an impactful weekend for the local economy.
“Any time you have a select group of people to come here, sporting or otherwise, it affects the local economy,” he said.
The numbers speak for itself, according to Barber.
“Two years ago, we showed that the aquatics center had a $15 million impact (since it opened) on the local economy. So, if you add in other events, like this weekend, it does make a difference,” he said.
Barber pointed to lodging, food and retail all seeing an upswing because of the events.
“It also gives visitors a view of small town living at its best,” he boasted.
The Christiansburg Recreation Center is hosting the annual Rockstar Gymnastics Invitational meet Friday through Sunday. The rec center will not be open for public use this weekend.
The event will run from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. each day. Athletes ages 5-18 will be competing.
Members of the public may purchase tickets to view the competition. Spectators ages 6-12 may purchase a $5 day pass or $10 weekend pass; spectators ages 13-59 may purchase a $10day pass or $15 weekend pass; spectators ages 60 and up may purchase a $5 day pass or $10 weekend pass. Spectators under five enter for free.
The Rock Star Invitational has been organized by Virginia Techniques every year for the past 12 years in memory of Kassidy Foster, a gymnast who trained at Virginia Techniques. Kassidy passed away in 2007 after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma.
This is the first year that the Christiansburg Recreation Center has hosted the event.
Christiansburg High School will host its annual “Big Blue” wrestling competition with 21 teams on Friday and Saturday.
Big Blue details:
Friday, January 19: Wrestling begins at 4 p.m., first two rounds of championship bracket and first two rounds of consolation. The championship and third place matches will be wrestled starting at 4 p.m. followed by the medal awards, including all place winners, outstanding wrestler and team trophies. Admission for the public is $10 per day or $15 for a two-day pass.
The aquatics center will host the H2Okie open on Saturday and Sunday with swimmers from throughout the state. The facility will also be closed to the public during the event.
Monday, Barber repeated a story he was told by a family that attended a past swim meet at the aquatics center.
“They were here for three to four days, and they told me they spent $1,900 while they were here. Now granted, not every family spends that, but in their case, that was a major impact. So, we’re fortunate in the things that we do offer especially in youth sports which have impacted the local economy and continue do so,” he said.
The local economy also benefits from athletic events at Virginia Tech. The Hokies will play Florida State at noon on Saturday in Cassell Coliseum. The game is sold out.
A 2015 economic impact report showed that out-of-town fans brought in an estimated $69 million over the past 15 years.
The annual economic impact figure comes from a Virginia Tech study that shows restaurants, hotels, and shops benefitting most from football-generated dollars spent in the region.
Football’s economic impact tripled, according to the analysis, since the last economic impact study was done. Most of that money was directly connected to football with the five biggest categories where visitors dropped their dimes being hotels, restaurants, shops, grocery stores and gas stations. Visitors’ direct spending in those areas amounted to $5.9 million in lodging, $5 million in dining, $2.9 million in fuel costs, $2.6 million in retail and $2.5 million in groceries.
Virginia Tech’s total football revenue amounts to $41 million. Almost three quarters of that portion, nearly $30 million, comes from outside the region. Most of that money—$25 million—is spent in the region.
Taxes of $1 million on all the transactions are an added benefit as well, covering sales, meals and lodging.
When that report was released, Sarah Lyon-Hill, a specialist in the Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development said each dollar spent has a multiplier effect as money changes hands within the region.
“It’s important to note that our approach was conservative. Even though we excluded workers such as the dozens of security staff and police officers hired for every game-day weekend, we found that Virginia Tech football supports almost 300 jobs that wouldn’t be here otherwise,” she said.
The $69 million bottom line is the sum of direct spending of $47 million plus $22 million in spending that analysts call “indirect and induced,” a region-specific formula that captures spillover effects into the local economy.
Included in the total is money that the Virginia Tech Athletics football program spends in the New River and Roanoke Valleys, including employee earnings of $8.6 million.
The study covered the New River and Roanoke Valleys, composed of seven counties (Giles, Pulaski, Montgomery, Roanoke, Botetourt, Franklin and Craig) and the independent cities of Radford, Roanoke, and Salem.
