With a little luck and a lot of community support, local tourism officials are hoping Clarksville will host the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA) state football championships beginning in 2017.
Visit Clarksville and Austin Peay State University athletic department officials hosted a site visit for seven TSSAA staff earlier in September to show just what Clarksville has to offer.
“We’ve wanted to bid on these tournaments for several years, but just didn’t have a first-class facility to show them,” said Visit Clarksville Executive Director Theresa Harrington. “With the investment of Austin Peay and Fortera Credit Union, we now have a fantastic venue with Fortera Stadium.”
TSSAA football championships include separate state championship games, nine in total, for all of the divisions played over three days. The championships have been held in Cookeville, Tennessee for the past seven years.
Harrington and APSU Athletic Director Ryan Ivey both feel good about their chances. “We are excited about the prospect of hosting the championships. The ability to have these students, their families, fans and communities from across the state experience what Austin Peay State University has to offer is important to our long-term plans,” said Ivey.
After having hosted Amateur Athletic Union basketball championships for over 15 years, Harrington is confident that Clarksville-Montgomery County has the volunteer base and corporate support needed to pull off an event of this magnitude. “We will need a lot of community support to win this bid, but I have absolutely no doubt that we can do it.”
Harrington says attendance depends on several factors, including where the teams are based and weather, but easily expects some 20,000 people to travel to Clarksville for the games. Based on past attendance, the economic impact to the local community could be upwards of $1.3 million.
The TSSAA board of directors is scheduled to meet in January to select a host city for the 2017-2020 championships.
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